


In Every Universe (When You Feel Most Alone, You Will Not Be Alone)

by handsinacapitches



Category: Pitch Perfect (Movies)
Genre: Enemies to Lovers, F/F, Found Family, Friends With Benefits, Harry Potter AU, High Society AU, I'm sorry this is so late, Junksenweek, Percy Jackson AU, Soulmates, The Barden Bellas are a family, but i finally got an AO3, not just from junksenweek, one-shots now, these are originally from tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-01-09
Updated: 2019-01-09
Packaged: 2019-10-07 03:27:53
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 22,087
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/17358062
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/handsinacapitches/pseuds/handsinacapitches
Summary: Aubrey believes that in every universe her and Emily are meant to be together. After all, if she could love her as she is in this space, there's no way that they don't find each other in every other one.Title from My Shadow by Keane





	1. Of Crossbills and Full Moons

**Author's Note:**

> Or all the times Aubrey thought about breaking the rules and the time she did.

Aubrey Posen knew she wasn’t destined for love. As her father said, “always give 100% unless your donating blood or getting a divorce.” Which roughly translated to, “I expect you to donate blood regularly,” and “I’m expecting you’ll get divorced sometime in your life.” And for once she didn’t want him to be right. She hoped to god he wasn’t. So she created the “don’t fall in love” rule.

~~

Aubrey believes you can fall in “like”, but the only way to really love someone is to spend time with them and really get to know them. Understand them at their best and understand them at their worst. Love them at their best and love them at their worst. Love is not based on sight, or rather first sight. Aubrey still allows herself to realize when someone is smoking hot. Love is based on touch, on feeling, on glances and hidden smiles. Love is based on everything Aubrey Posen was told not to do. Not to feel.

And then there’s Emily Junk. And Aubrey is fairly certain she loves her.  _As a friend. Just friends. Yeah._ Aubrey and Emily have known each other since college. Or rather, Emily was in college and Aubrey was working at the lodge. She was immediately drawn to her happiness. Her carefree-ness. Emily was the only one to come back and visit her after the first Bella’s retreat. Saying something about wanting to learn more about camping, Aubrey happily obliged. Her father always said, “if at first you don’t succeed, pack your bags,” which roughly translates to always keep a bag packed because your bound to fail at some point. So, Aubrey packed her backpacking bag and and decided to go camping with Emily for a week. She honestly just needed to get away from the lodge. And Emily, sweet, bubbly, kind Emily was the perfect excuse.

When Aubrey called Chloe on their weekly FaceTime call (merely so that they could catch up) and told her best friend about the plan, the first thing the red-head says was, “what is she your girlfriend?”

“Oh my god, Chloe,” she groaned. “You know I have rules.”

“Oh come on, who wouldn’t break the rules for Legacy?” Chloe smirked the kind of smirk she could only have learned from Beca. “I know you think she’s hot.”

“Aca-scuse me?!” Aubrey rolled her eyes. “We’re just friends.”

“Sure.”

~~

When Emily called Beca to tell her about the trip, the first thing Beca said was, “dude, I’m happy for you. Just don’t fuck in that tent, Chloe and I want to borrow it.”

Emily tried to protest, but she couldn’t deny it. Aubrey was hot. She should probably add ‘go on a date with Aubrey Posen’ to her dream board. Her introspection was ruined when Chloe came into the view of the camera, one arm hugging her girlfriend from behind. “Are we talking about Em’s girlfriend?”

“Yeah, I told them not to fuck in the tent. Or to try not to,” Beca smirked.

Emily, red faced and embarrassed said she wouldn’t because, “she doesn’t even like Aubrey like that.”  _Oh gosh, who is she kidding. Aubrey is smart, funny, hard assed (but it’s kind of a turn on), and downright beautiful._ Emily couldn’t ignore it. But she also knew about the rule. She was told the rule, taught the rule. She tried to follow the rule.

~~

What she didn’t know was that Aubrey was failing miserably. For once, she was actually contemplating breaking it. But  _oh god, her dad couldn’t be right._

The first time Aubrey actively thought  _fuck it_  they were in the middle of nowhere birdwatching. Emily was spouting theory’s about birds and how they predict who you’re going to fall in love with. It was ridiculously adorable. Apparently the first bird you saw, would show the defining trait of your soul mate.

“Oh, look at that one!” Emily pointed at a Crossbill. “That ones means I’ll fall in love with someone with argumentative tendencies.”

Aubrey laughed, it was all she could do.  _She had argumentative tendencies. Right? Maybe they were destined and there was nothing she could do about it. Maybe._  Maybe.

~~

The second time Aubrey thought about breaking the rules was when they were still on their trip. According to another one of Emily’s superstitions, the first person you see on the 7th day after a full moon is the person you’ll fall in love with.

“So, I guess I’ll be falling in love with you,” the younger girl grinned.

She knew Emily was joking.  _She was joking, right? Who was she? Why did she wish the other girl wasn’t._

“Guess so,” she whispered back.  _Oh my god, why did she just say that._

Emily smiled back softly and hugged Aubrey around her middle. “I’m glad we’re friends.”

“Me too,” she sighed. How could she say it?  _I want to be more. I think I’m in love with you. **I’m willing to break all my rules for you.**_

~~

The third time was when she came to Barden. She was there to help Emily with the new Bellas. Apparently they weren’t falling in line.

When Emily called her telling the problem, she laughed. The brunette pouted, then Aubrey explained. “You can’t be mean,” she smiled. “It’s impossible for you.”

“I can!” Emily screwed up her face, trying to look intimidating. “See?!”

“Cute, but no.”  _Oh my god, cute? Why?_  Aubrey blushed softly. “Tell you what, I’ll come down there and put them in line. Deal?”

“Oh em aca-gee,” Emily yelled. “You’re the best.”

~~

The first thing Aubrey noticed was that it was the 7th day after the full moon. The second thing she noticed was an Emily barreling towards her.  _Well, that’s gotta count for something._

“Aubrey!!! It’s so good to see you,” Emily hugged her tightly.

She smiled softly, “it’s good to see you too.”

The older girl pressed her nose into the top of the younger one’s head and pulled her closer. What she didn’t notice, was that the brunette had brought two others along. A junior music producer and and red head, both who she knew very well.

“Well, well,” Beca drawled our teasingly. “Who knew hard assed Aubrey Posen had a soft spot?”

“Oh shut it, Mitchell,” Aubrey smirked. Chloe had her arm around Beca’s waist and was leaning into her. And maybe she pulled back from Emily a little too harshly. And maybe the younger girl looked hurt. And maybe Aubrey felt bad. But she couldn’t fall in love. She wasn’t in love.

~~

Later that day, she met all of the new Bellas. They were a scraggly bunch with not much experience and no initiative. She could see why Emily had called her.

Stalking into the room with purpose, she yelled, “listen up, aca-bitches.” She smiled to herself when they immediately stood still with fear. “You have a legacy to uphold,” she smiled over at Emily who grinned back softly. It was hidden from the newer Bellas but she knew Beca and Chloe had seen. In the moment it didn’t matter.

“All four of us in front of you have dedicated so much to this group, and I don’t want to see you idiots ruining it. So, let’s start with cardio. 30 minutes on the stairs. Starting now!”

“You really get an kick out of that don’t you?” Emily grinned.

“She does,” Beca and Chloe said at the same time.

“It’s just fun to be back,”  _and it’s been great seeing you_ , were the words she swallowed.

~~

That afternoon Aubrey needed to talk to Chloe. These feelings were really fucking with her. As she went up, she found the door shut and locked. She knew what that meant.

“Hey, Mitchell! Get off my best friend, I need to talk to her,” she yelled through the door.

There was a groan on the other side and then some shuffling around. She heard the lock click and the door swung open.

“Vag-block,” Beca muttered. Aubrey rolled her eyes as Chloe came to the door.

“Hey, what’s up?” the red head asked. She stepped in past Chloe and shut the door.

“I think I’m in love with Emily.”

She heard her best friend sigh, “it’s about time.” She began pacing, as Chloe followed her movements with bright blue eyes.

“But you know I have rules. What do I do?”

“Break them.”

~~

That night, Aubrey thought about what Chloe said.  _Break them._

She was never one for that.  _But god, what if they were soul mates? Like in those books Emily reads. What if it’s true? Then it’s inevitable._ She wouldn’t be able to stop it anyway.

After tossing and turning for a couple hours, her mind echoing with thoughts and Emily’s laughter, she got out of bed and headed downstairs.

Of course, there was Emily. In her cute pajamas reading a book. When the younger girl saw her, she immediately shut her book and got off the couch. It was another one of those books about soulmates.

“Hey,” Emily chirped.

“Hi,” Aubrey smiled softly.  _I’m gonna tell her. I have to. I can’t not. I don’t want to miss my chance_. “Um, do you want to talk?” She kicked herself for how unsure she sounded.

Emily confused, just smiled and nodded. The brunette unconsciously (or consciously?) grabbed her hand and led her out to the porch. She couldn’t help but feel a tingle all over. They let go as they sat down. She tried not to show her disappointment.

“What’s up?” Emily asked brightly.

“I-,” Aubrey collected her thoughts, but not before Emily spotted a crossbill behind her.

“Oh, look!” Emily smiled, “I’ve been seeing this bird regularly since we got back from our camping trip. Do you remember what I told you it means?”

“Argumentative tendencies,” Aubrey said without thinking.

“Yeah,” the brunette beamed. “How’d you remember? It’s been a while.”

“Because I have argumentative tendencies,” she blurted out without thinking.

She was looking anywhere but at the younger girl. “And you’re the first person I saw on the 7th day after a full moon. You said that meant that we were destined to fall in love,” she was looking at the tree behind the girl’s head, but could see a blush forming on her neck. It spurred her on, “and I love listening to your stories. I remember everything you tell me.” She tried to search for some sign that she should stop, anything. But when there was nothing, she just continued.

“And,” she paused, looking Emily in the eyes for the first time since they came outside. “And I’m willing to break all my rules for you.” Emily looked at her, stunned.

“And I totally understand if you don’t feel the same way. Because I’m this total aca-bitch and you’re just this amazing person. But I guess what I’m trying to say is that I’m in love with you. And I’ve been in love with you since the trip. And this was totally unplanned, i just couldn’t get my mind off you. And then I went downstairs to get a glass of water, and I couldn’t stand not knowing anymore-,” she was cut off by a pair of soft lips on her own.

But before she could register and kiss back, Emily pulled away, just barely and whispered, “Aubrey?”

“Yeah?”

“Shut up,” she felt Emily’s smile on her lips.

“Sorry,” she whispered back.

“Wow, Aubrey Posen apologizing. That’s new,” the brunette teased, still against her lips.

“Like I said, I’m willing to break all my rules for you.” Distantly, she heard the chirping of a crossbill and it registered somewhere in her brain that even if the moon wasn’t full tonight, it sure was bright.

She felt Emily grin again and push her lips hard against the blonde’s, while moving to sit in her lap. And it was so much better than she imagined. Why _had she tried to keep that rule? **This was so worth it.**_


	2. We’re Just Two Strangers Born to Be Whole (What I Need is For You To Surrender)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The Friends With Benefits AU

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Honestly I don't know what this is, I had a playlist going and it was giving me vibes and then I created this that week but honestly I don't remember the mindset I was in :) 
> 
> Here's the playlist if you so wish: https://open.spotify.com/playlist/2g4olz3MBXDUJ1xnMkcjG6?si=JAXs_quKR62zyz4Dkf2eJQ

Aubrey Posen and Emily Junk don’t ever talk about what happens in their bedrooms. By day, they’re coworkers who don’t spare a second glance to the other. By night, they’re between the sheets trying to get release. Both trying desperately not to want more. Not to feel more. Not to think of what could be.

Both trying their best to ignore what’s really happening between them. Both knowing they could risk everything if they say the wrong thing.

They’ve agreed to keep it casual. To do their best not to talk about it, during it, or to feel anything real. They really do try. But they always fail. Because often, Aubrey has Emily on her back with her tongue running through her folds, and the brunette is screaming her name  **(with more reverence than she’d like to admit)**. And other times, Emily is talking dirty in her ear, and Aubrey can’t help but push her hips off the bed while breathing the other woman’s name softly  **(with a voice that conveys more than just lust).**

But they pretend like those moments never happen.

Everything changes when Aubrey accidentally shares her feelings, believing Emily to be asleep. And when Aubrey finds out the brunette heard (and could possibly feel the same way), she panics and pushes the other away. Because, how could she have been so stupid?

Because Aubrey feels  _ **so fucking broken**_  all the time, and the the blonde doesn’t want to bring Emily, brilliant, kind Emily, into her mess. It’s not fair to her. Because she saw her parent’s love unravel. And she’s so scared to turn out like her dad. Running away after he starts something that he can’t finish. Like being a good father. She can’t have that. Her coping mechanisms hadn’t always been the healthiest, especially when things were at their worst, and the blonde really doesn’t want the brunette to know that. She shuts people out. It just makes things easier.

And she also doesn’t want Emily to break her heart. (Because then those mechanisms will come out, and she can’t do that to herself right now. She can’t have someone break her). But also, she can’t, she can’t be there again. Because she tried for so long. To help her family. And it never helped anything. There was just more yelling.

So she tries to leave. Because she knows Emily deserves better. Because starting something and not being able to finish is a Posen specialty.  **(What she doesn’t realize is that’s exactly what’s she’s doing right now, because _god she’s already in so deep)._**

So she tells Emily, and she asks the woman to please let her go. And the brunette had never seen this side of her. The quitting side. Emily can’t believe the other woman is just going to run away. And Aubrey just stands there and watches her blink at her disbelievingly, tears filling her eyes. And all Aubrey can think about is how Emily is breaking in front of her.

And that it’s her doing.

But the brunette won’t believe it. Because she thought for sure Aubrey would stay. Because of how Aubrey’s relationship with her dad is. Because Aubrey’s dad had never been around. And even though only reason she knows is because of the nightmares Aubrey has when the blonde stays over  **(she can only assume that they happen when the blonde is alone too, probably more),** she still does know and can’t help but wonder if it’s the reason for Aubrey’s attempt at leaving. The nightmares are always along the lines of “dad, please, don’t go away this time,” and the blonde’s whimpering is silenced when Emily holds her just the right way. She thought the blonde would be different. Of course, she doesn’t say any of that. It’s not her place.They’re not together  **(not technically, anyway).** Besides, she’s pretty sure Aubrey doesn’t even know that she’s aware of the nightmares.

So instead of saying everything swirling in her head, Emily begs Aubrey to repeat what she's saying. Just to see if the other woman is sure. And Aubrey refuses to. Because she could barely get them out once. And all she can get out is that, “it’s for the best.” Because she knows if Emily comes too close to her that she’ll stay. That if Emily kisses her behind her ear in just the right way, pulls her close by the belt loops on her jeans, runs her hands over the soft skin under her shirt, she won’t have the strength. Her legs will give out. But more than that, her heart will give in. She won’t be able to go.

Which makes Emily mistake it for her fault. Because the blonde backs up when Emily steps closer. Maybe she did something, god she  **always**  does something. But she begs the blonde to stay anyway. Because they’re just figuring things out. And she’s sorry for whatever she did. That she's sorry she wasn't good enough.

And Aubrey can’t help but sigh and have a soft sad smile appear on her face. Because yes, she was in love. And wow was it ironic, because she’s the one that’s not good enough. And she muses over that for a few seconds, but then decides to leave. Decides to leave Emily standing in the middle of the hall, with tears forming. And she turns her back, because she knows if she sees the most beautiful woman she knows cry, she also won’t be able to leave.

So she grabs her stuff, and it registers somewhere in her brain that she can sense Emily’s silent tears, even though she’s not looking at her. But maybe the only reason she can is because she can feel her own, wet on her face.

But Aubrey leaves anyway. Without looking back. And Emily watches her. Let’s her.

And Emily can’t help but think the thing that she had so many opportunities to say how she feels. So many. She knows Aubrey feels the same way.

And realizing they were both too late.

~~

It’s been a month, and Aubrey can’t get her mind off Emily. Because god, she knew she loved her. But it took the pain of letting go to know it. And god, why did she do this? Without Emily next to her, she has more frequent nightmares. Without Emily, she’s restless. Without Emily she can’t sleep. And since Emily, she hasn’t brought anyone home with her. Because no one can compare.

Why did she leave? Was Emily struggling as much as she was?

The answer was yes. The brunette has found herself up late into the night, wondering if Aubrey is able to sleep. Because she sure can’t. She wonders if the blonde’s nightmares are still happening. She wonders if Aubrey still rolls over to feel the other side of the bed, expecting someone to be there, like she does some mornings.

Because the brunette can’t ever forget the look on the other girl’s face when the blonde thought she was sleeping. Can’t get the look in Aubrey’s eyes out of her head. And Emily still doesn’t know. Doesn’t know that Aubrey was afraid of her feelings. Doesn’t know that the blonde just didn’t want to hurt her. That Aubrey doesn’t want to turn out like her dad. 

Wrapped up in one of Aubrey’s hoodies that she’d accidentally left, the brunette can’t help but think about the last kiss they shared. 

~~

It’s been two months. And it’s not her place but when Aubrey sees Emily out with someone at the bar, she can’t help it. The jealousy. Of course, Emily was never hers, not really. But dammit she wishes she was. She wishes she hadn’t run. Wishes that she had explained herself. Wishes she’d stayed.

But now she’s across the street, and there's this guy with his arms _her._ And for the first time she’s realizingthat she's ready. She wants Emily. More than she even knew. 

And then she’s running into the bar, despite her better judgement, and she’s pulling Emily aside. And Emily looks confused. Not angry. Well at first angry, but when she sees who it is her expression softens considerably. The brunette mentally kicks herself at that. Because-because this woman broke her heart. Because this woman shouldn’t mean anything. But she would be kidding herself if she said she was over her.

Aubrey doesn’t know what to think when Emily asks a curt, “why are you here?” Emily was always happy. Was this her doing? But she had to try to fix things. Because, my god, she’s such an idiot. And before she can collect her thoughts, words come out. And they’re everything she should’ve said before. Everything she wanted to say that morning at 1:58. Everything she’d ever thought while Emily was kissing her tenderly, or when they were just lying there together in each other’s arms ( ~~of course, they always pretended that those moments never happened, tenderness wasn’t allowed, because they definitely, clearly, were not in love~~ ). But that’s beside the point, because in this moment she finds herself talking faster than her mind,

She explains that she needs Emily. She explains that she wasn't ready. How she wants Emily.

And also, that all of it's on her. That  Because wow, this was so on her. She’d missed out on two months of happiness, because she couldn’t face the fact she had feelings. Because she was scared of them. She could’ve talked about it. And she’s so sorry.

And they’re both looking at each other with no words. Neither of them sure enough to voice what they’re both thinking how absurd it is that they both know how much they could wreck each other with one look, one touch, one step. 

At this point, Emily had tears in her eyes and has all but forgotten about the person who had brought her to the bar. Suddenly they were of no interest. Because this has been all that she wanted to hear from the beginning. And suddenly, it’s real. But what really gets her is the apology. And the fact that  **Aubrey was scared**.Because she never pegged her for the kind. Aubrey was brave, and brilliant. But now even more so because she could admit her fear.

But still, she’s looking for a promise. A promise that this girl won’t run. Because she thinks, maybe, just maybe, she could be in love. She just needs to know for sure that Aubrey is all in.

Aubrey nods, and then takes a deep breath, Emily deserves the truth, the real reason why. Why the she had run. So the blonde admits the full truth. That she was scared to be hurt. That she thought it’d be better to stop it. Before they could get really attached. And then she can’t stop herself from saying, “before  **I** got attached.” Because of her dad. And she did not want to be that way. She didn’t want to hurt anyone, especially not Emily. And it was so scary to think that maybe she would be. But now she’s realizing that because she left on that day, she was just like her dad.

At that, Emily kisses her. Saying, that from what she knows, Aubrey is nothing like her father. That she’s beautiful and perfect just the way she is. Because she returned. And Emily’s now sure that the blonde wasn’t going anywhere. She keeps whispering her understanding, filling in the gaps that the blonde couldn’t hear by pressing her tongue into Aubrey’s mouth. Just to make her  **understand**. Understand how much she’s missed her. Understand that she’s forgiven.

And suddenly, they’re back. And suddenly Aubrey’s looking at the armor she's built, looking back on their relationship before and she takes it off. How she would always leave guarded, thinking it would be the last time she would come back, because how could she do keep doing this to such an amazing woman? How could she be like her dad, when all she wanted to be her whole life was  _ **not like him?**_ Why wasn’t she resisting the temptation? Why was she doing this, when she knew she should’ve shut down her non compliant feelings a long time ago?How could she keep coming home with her, only to deny what she’d been feeling for months?

She remembers thinking that she couldn't do this anymore. But still, she’d always go back. Because she could never get enough. Except now it feels different. And she’s thinking about how she got here.

 ~~

She’d do it all over again, to get here. In Emily’s apartment, whispering that this is everything. She surrenders her insecurities. She surrenders them to Emily's lips, Emily's embrace, Emily's everything that will expel them. 

And all she can think about is what would’ve happened. What would she have become? Would she be like her father? Feeling like nothing ever worked out? Feeling regret for the rest of her life?

Would she ever feels as complete as she does right now? As she felt when they got back to Emily’s place? As she felt when Emily whispered that she loved her after her most mind blowing orgasm ever? After she whispered it back? Finally saying all that's on their minds without reservations. 

Would she ever feel her whole body heat up the way it did when Emily pinned her to the door and whispered all the ways she was going to take her that night? Would she ever have felt as hot and bothered as she did when Emily’s tongue was behind it ear? Would she ever have felt as  **wanted**  as right now?

Would she ever have felt the way about someone the way she felt about this woman? The answer was no. And as she and Emily lay their, for the first time not afraid to sleep wrapped up in each other she can't help but think how exactly right this feels. 

And she’s scared, baring her heart this way but they fit together like puzzle pieces and that settles Aubrey mind a bit as she melts further into Emily at that, pushing her nose into soft brown hair, and tangling their legs further. She hears a content sigh, then feels steady breathing on her neck. Pretty soon, she’s fallen asleep too, still wrapped up in the safety and scent of this woman that she loves, and who loves her.

And for the first time in two months, Aubrey sleeps peacefully.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments are fun and liked :) on tumblr I'm @handsinaca-pitches


	3. The President's Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> In which Emily is the president’s daughter and Aubrey is assigned to protect her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This counts as High Society (sort of)?? I tried my best :)

This is Aubrey’s big break. At just 24, she’d built a name for herself as the best in the business of personal security, which has a surprisingly large market. She’d looked after CEOs, mayors, senators and everything in between and today she had just gotten a call from the President of the United States, Katherine Junk. She wanted to meet with Aubrey about a ‘new assignment’ as the powerful woman had put it. Which is why ,at this very moment, Aubrey is putting on her best looking pant suit (because how could you not,  _it’s the fucking president_ ). She makes a mental note to stop her swearing, because she’s about to meet the… freaking(?) president.

When she arrives at the White House, she’s not sure what to expect. She thinks maybe their security will be intense, but the guy at the gate sees her name on the list and lets her through. She guess’s she wouldn’t have even made it onto the driveway if she wasn’t. As she gets out of her black Silverado, Aubrey takes her first actual look at the grounds of the presidential house. They’re well kempt, fenced thoroughly without being overbearing, grand without being exorbitant.

She doesn’t know where she’s supposed to go, but then she sees the one and only Madam President walking towards her, followed by a security detail.  _All men,_  she notices. When they’re close enough, Aubrey sticks out her hand. “Madam President, what an honor.” Even though her favorite word is fuck, she does know proper etiquette.

President Junk just smiles at her before kindly but firmly saying, “I have an assignment for you, would you like to talk inside?”

“Lead the way,” the blonde smiles back.

When they’re in, what she can only assume is, a conference room, the president immediately begins speaking, waving her guards out of the room.  _Wow, it must be confidential._

“Ms Posen, you’ve been chosen specifically for this job because of your track record,” the president paces back and forth. She can’t help but feel a bit of pride that even this amazing woman knows about her. The blonde perks up as the other woman continues, “what I say right now cannot leave this room. Ever.”

“Yes ma’am,” Aubrey nods. She feels like President Junk is weighing her. It seems that the older woman can see the sincerity in her eyes.

“It seems that my daughter is being targeted.”

Aubrey can’t help but have her heart stop at that. Because Emily Junk, sweetheart of the nation, Emily Junk is being targeted? The young woman who went around and gave flowers to every single officer, including Aubrey’s own father, and thanked them all for their service?

Aubrey doesn’t realize how loudly she’s thinking, “my thoughts exactly,” the president says without even having to ask what she thinks. “Which is why I’m assigning you to her.”

And wow this is bigger than she thought. The president’s daughter? That’s pressure. But she can handle it. “Of course, I accept the job, madam.” How could she not, again, it’s the president. “If you don’t mind me asking, what does the job entail?”

Madam Junk lists off all the things, and Aubrey writes it down on a small pad of paper she keeps in her inside coat pocket. The president actually looks impressed, and Aubrey can’t help but feel pleased with herself. “And lastly, does she know that I’m going to be protecting her?”

The older woman looks surprised at that, “yes, of course, why wouldn’t she?”

Aubrey can’t help but chuckle slightly, “you’d be surprised, ma’am.”

“Well I guess in your line of work, anything is possible,” Mrs Junk cracks a smile.

They both stand up and shake hands. “You start on Monday, 8am sharp.”

“I’ll be here at 7.”

“Good.”

~~

Within the first months of work, Aubrey already knows that Emily is a rebellious person. She’s not sure if it has to do with being under the public scrutiny, or something else entirely. But she doesn’t like it. The girl is making it so much harder.

Specifically, for the past three nights, the brunette has been attempting to sneak out, something about going to see DJ Beca Mitchell at a local club only for the higher ups. Of course, Aubrey thwarted her plans each time, either catching Emily leaving through her window or meeting Emily at the back gate. She was always met with the groan of, “I’m twenty! My mother can’t keep me here forever.”

And everytime, Aubrey would smile and say, “actually she can, she’s the president.”

This routine continues, until one night. Emily actually makes it out and to the club. Aubrey mentally curses whatever let this happen, before getting in her truck and driving there as fast as she can (with her White House badge just in case of a speeding violation).

~~

Emily enjoys this little “game” she plays with Aubrey (she has no idea how serious the threats are). She enjoys pushing Aubrey’s buttons and also can’t deny the fact that she is kind of attracted to the blonde, who always seems to be in control and always know what’s going on. Which is why Emily felt a swell of pride when she actually got out of the house.

When she got to the club, she notices a couple of her friends that had been asking her to meet them there for the last couple nights before Aubrey had stopped her. Stacie, Chloe, CR and Amy all waved her over.

“Hey guys,” she waves. “What have I missed?”

Stacie speaks first, “Amy has had four drinks, I’ve had three, CR is trying to get a girl and Chloe here,” she puts her arm around the redhead, “totally has eyes for DJ Mitchell over there.”

Chloe sputters, “I do not!” But from the defensive look on her face, and the fact that the girl can’t take her eyes off the turntable, they know she’s lying.

“Oooh whos that over there?” CR points to the entrance. It’s Aubrey.

“Oh my-oh my, that’s my bodyguard!!” Emily turns bright red when she sees Aubrey stuffing her aviators in her breast pocket and adjusting the lapels on her leather jacket.

“If you ask me, you want her to do a lot more than  _guard_  your body,” Stacie whispers suggestively.

“Stacie!” Emily manages to squeak out.

“ _Oh my god_ , it’s true,” Stacie practically cackles. “Guys, Emily likes her bodyguard.”

“Who wouldn’t?” CR mumbles.

That’s when the blonde spots her and before she can get away, is walking toward them with a brisk pace. She can’t tell if Aubrey looks amused or annoyed or a bit of both. “Ms Junk?”

“Aubreyyy hey,” Emily manages to get out. “Fancy seeing you here!”

Aubrey smirks at that, “aren’t you going to tell me the reasons you should be out, Miss?”

“No?” Emily says, realizing it comes out more of a question (she winces, because pretty girls always make her nervous, even when they’re supposedly just her body guards).

“Look, Miss Junk,” Aubrey looks at her seriously. “I’m just here to do my job, and that is to protect you. So I’ll be over there,” she points to the pillar a couple yards away. “Because even if you’re the presidents daughter, you deserve to have some,” she swears Aubrey looks her up and down, “fun.”

At that the blonde walks away, and Emily can’t help but let her gaze trail up and down the blonde’s fit body.

~~

Everything’s going smoothly as Aubrey keeps her distance (but not too far) from Emily. She can’t help but feel an attraction to this girl. The way she dances is carefree and happy, she smiles and it lights up the room. And she definitely shouldn’t be thinking about her boss’s daughter that way, especially because her boss is the president.

And then suddenly everything is not going smoothly. There are a couple of guys surrounding Emily, and she can faintly hear their words as she gets closer. “We’ve been sending letters to your mother, asking when you were going to come out of the house. We wanted to have a word with her, but I guess you’ll do.”

The guy attempts to grab her, but before he can Aubrey has her foot locked into the joint of his knee and her arm around his neck. She’s about the same height as him, and she whispers in his ear, “I would suggest you choose your next words and actions very carefully. I know 10 ways to knock you cold at this very moment. Choose.”

The man signals for all of his guys to stand down, and before he knows it, Aubrey has this guy, who’s clearly their leader, on the ground. The blonde quickly pulls out the handcuffs stuffed in her pocket and puts them around him, “sir you’re under arrest.”

~~

The next day, Emily is sitting in her mom’s office, trying not to squirm. She catches pieces of her mom’s speech, but she can’t find it in herself to actively pay attention. She’s too shaken up from last night. “Irresponsible, risking your life, for some club!” The President paces back and forth, “stupid! Idiotic!”

“Mom! I’m fine,” she manages to get out, maybe louder than she intended.

“Yes, and thank god for that, but only because Posen followed you! And you shouldn’t have gotten out in the first place, I’m going to have to fire her.”

“What?! Mom, no!” Because whether she wants to admit it or not, Aubrey is the best security she’s ever had.

“She let you out, I have no choice,” her mom sighed.

“Yeah but she protected me, and she cares. She was just trying to let me be a 20 year old! And besides, she was standing, like, 9 feet away.” Emily’s mind trails back to last night. How in control the blonde looked while holding that guy in place, and the way she whispered in his ear. She wondered what that felt like, and she practically shivered. And she knows that that is  _definitely_  not what she should be thinking about in this moment, and definitely should not be wishing Aubrey was whispering in her ear. The brunette had to squeeze her legs shut tight, just at the thought of the blonde holding her close.

Emily is startled from her day dream when her mom says, “fine! She can stay.” Thank god her mom didn’t know about the attraction she felt.

“Yes! Thanks Mom!”

~~

Aubrey is waiting outside for her, with a hopeful look in her eyes. “You’re staying, I convinced her,” Emily smiles softly.

“Thanks, Ms Junk” Aubrey smiles back.

“No, thank you,” the brunette looks up at the other woman. “Who knows what would’ve happened to me if you hadn’t been there.” At that, Emily pulls her into a hug. Aubrey can’t help but think that the presidents daughter smells like cinnamon and something she can’t put her finger on. “And please, call me Emily.”

“All right…” Aubrey looks directly at the brunette, and Emily can’t help but feel a shiver down her spine. “Emily.”

~~

Aubrey and Emily spend more and more time together, and the brunette had convinced her mother to let her go and do something outside the gates for one day a week. It was never anything big like the club anymore, usually just a burger or a movie, but Aubrey always came along.

Emily couldn’t help but think it was almost like a weekly date. But god knows if Aubrey even feels that way about her.

She does. Often, the blonde can’t take her eyes off of her. She uses her job as an excuse, but she knows she’s lying to herself. She enjoys the weekly outings she has with Emily, and the time they spend together doesn’t feel so forced anymore. The blonde can count at least a couple times where she felt like the brunette was going to kiss her, but it never happened.

~~

Emily remembers one specific instance where she knew her feelings for the other woman were real. It was raining, and Emily had insisted that she didn’t need to bring a jacket.

Aubrey was smirking as soon as the first drop fell, and she was waiting for an  _I told you so_ or some type of teasing. But instead, the blonde didn’t hesitate in shedding her leather jacket and putting it over the brunette’s shoulders.

(Part of Emily knows that this is part of Aubrey’s job. To care for her and look after her, but it still warms her heart non the less. Especially when she breathes in the blonde’s unique scent somewhere between vanilla and lavender, or both.)

She tried to insist that it was  _Aubrey’s_  jacket and that she should be wearing it, because the blonde was walking in the rain too, but the other woman just waved her off. “Nah, besides, you look good.”

Emily couldn’t help but blush at that, but she still attempted to take it off before Aubrey put her hand on hers that was shrugging off the worn leather, “Emily.”

She immediately knew she was done for. Because the brunette could definitely get addicted to the way Aubrey says her name.

~~

It’s been a couple months, and she and Emily have grown a less tentative and more casual friendship, but Aubrey’s crush is still ever present. And so is Emily’s but they’re both too scared to do anything about it.

They had just arrived in California, as Emily was going to visit Stacie at her new masters program. Emily had insisted it was okay for them to share a room (“it has two beds!!”)

While the brunette was in the shower, Aubrey just sat on one of the cushioned chairs, looking outside, thinking. Lost in thought, she doesn’t hear Emily come out of the bathroom and jumps a little when Emily comes up behind her asking, “what are you thinking about?”

Aubrey sighs.  _How does she explain this?_ “How,” she pauses. “How everything feels so wrong and so right at the same time. How it’s so wrong that the only reason I met you is because people were threatening you. How it’s so right that I’m here right now, friends with you.”  _And the feelings that she wants to be more? That she’s not sure if those are wrong or right yet._

She feels a shiver up her spine when she sees that all this time Emily hasn’t been looking at the view like she thought she had. Emily had been looking at her. She stands up, and turns around, really looking at Emily. “I wish I was more like you,” she blurts out.

Emily laughs, “everyone does. Because of the money, right?”

“No, not the money,” Aubrey says, softly. “Because you’re so kind and generous and beautiful. Everyone likes you.”

“And they don’t like you?” Emily asks.

“Definitely not,” Aubrey chuckles. “I’m too hard assed for them, they say.”

“I like you,” the president’s daughter blurts out.

“Why? Why would you do that to yourself?” Aubrey finds herself asking.

“Because, it feels right.” Aubrey’s just realizing how close together they are. Emily pulls her closer, “is this right still?”

“No, it’s wrong,” she sees Emily’s face fall. “But I don’t give a shit.”

At that, Emily presses her lips to the blonde’s and Aubrey can’t help but groan. Because she definitely should not be kissing her boss’s daughter (nevermind the president’s daughter), especially because she’s supposed to be protecting her. But she can’t find it in herself to care. Because she knows she should stop. But she can’t. Not when Emily is kissing her like that.

Emily pulls back softly, “do you think,” the brunette takes a deep breath. “Do you think we could keep doing that until it’s right?”

“I think we can handle that,” Aubrey smiles.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Comments make people happy as always I'm @handsinaca-pitches on tumblr


	4. Of Hammer and Bow

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or the coming out story of demigod Aubrey Posen and all the people that helped her get there. Specifically, one Emily Junk.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is a Percy Jackson AU and madstone015 (I don't know how to link but please check out EVERYTHING, it's all brilliant) really helped me with it (title cred and proofread like a thousand times).

Aubrey Posen has lived at Camp Half-Blood most of her life. Since her step dad dumped her off on the side of the road because she was different. She could do things, like pick up an instrument for the first time and play a full song without even thinking. Or had perfect aim at everything, even golf. It freaked him out. She’s pretty sure he thought she was a witch. But he had no idea just how different the blonde was. 

Aubrey is gay. And no one knows besides Beca Mitchell, and her half sister Chloe. 

When they first met, Aubrey had immediately found herself attached at the hip with Chloe.  They were the only two in the Apollo Cabin, and even though the redhead was a two years younger; they immediately hit it off. Aubrey hadn’t had ‘real’ family in years. It was nice to have someone to talk to. But she always hated Beca, maybe it had something to do with seeing the brunette and her sister together. It made her suddenly realize that she’s so scared of who she is that she may never have what they do. Suddenly, her little sister was out and proud, Beca was too. And that’s what hurts. Because this daughter of Hades is suddenly shining brighter than her. Smiling wider, laughing and even occasionally singing. Aubrey hated to admit it, but her sister’s girlfriend had a lovely voice. (Aubrey  _knows_ that it’s not fair to be jealous. Because not coming out is totally her decision and on her. But she can’t help it).  Then Aubrey begins closing herself off, and people start to see it. The campers she teaches notice she doesn’t have the usual spring in her step of being up early in the morning, the satyrs notice that she’s not singing as much, Chiron notices that Aubrey just isn’t herself. 

Chiron had watched her grow up from childhood and had essentially raised her as his own. But he knows that she won’t talk to him. Because every time he tries to approach her, she still talks about how grateful she is that they found her 11 years ago. It warms his heart every time, but also, it worries him that she has the same answer for everything. It means she’s hiding something. Something that’s hurting her. So he asks Chloe to. Because Chloe is the only _f_ amily that Aubrey has, and the blonde has always been the most open with her. 

~~

So Chloe tries to approach her. And fails. 

And gods Aubrey feels bad when she blows up at Chloe but she can’t help it. Because even if she loves Chloe, her sister is everything she wants to be. She’s such an idiot. Because she shouldn’t be jealous. She loves Chloe. She really does. It was so stupid. She didn’t mean to yell. She didn’t mean to scare the redhead. She’s never gotten that angry at her. Because she’s always done her best to keep it in check around her sister. She would never want to hurt her. But even after all these years, screaming felt like the answer. She watches Chloe storm out in the direction of Beca’s cabin, slamming the door behind her. And now she’s crying into her pillow, trying her best not to dissolve into a mess of anger and sadness and regret. 

Because dammit she just wants to be proud of who she is. And she doesn’t know why that’s so hard.  Here she was, somewhere she supposedly belonged and she still doesn’t feel like she does.

And then Beca walks through the door of the cabin. And the blonde does her best to quickly dry her tears, but she just  _can’t_. They keep flowing. She’s sure that at first Beca comes over to scold her. To ask  _why? Why did you hurt her?_ But when the brunette sees Aubrey, broken, beaten down, she stops herself. And Aubrey feels like it’s the first time someone is really seeing her. 

She starts pouring her heart out to the one person she thought she never would, while Chloe is in Beca’s cabin because she didn’t want to see Aubrey that night after their argument. Suddenly, Aubrey is crying all over again. Which is, again a first for anyone to see. After Beca stands there for a couple seconds, unsure what to do, the brunette comes to sit next to her on the bed. They don’t touch at all, but it feels nice to just have someone there. Aubrey feels safe. And then before she can stop herself, she whispers that she’s gay. That no one knows and that Beca can’t tell anyone otherwise she  _will_ use her prolific archery skill to skewer her. She won’t give a shit that Beca is her sister’s girlfriend. Plus she’s pretty sure the brunette was ‘defiling’ her little sister.

Beca can’t stop herself. She starts laughing. A real laugh. She starts rolling around on the bed, and before she can put it to a halt, Aubrey is laughing too. And suddenly they’re both cracking up. And they can’t stop. That’s when Chloe comes in, talking before she even enters, asking if Beca is okay.  

But she’s not prepared for this sight. Specifically, her girlfriend and (crying) sister having a laughing fit when she didn’t know either of them was capable of it. Or that they even remotely liked each other. It’s nice to see both of them so happy though, and getting along. But when she asks them what they’re talking about, both of the girls go silent. And Beca is looking at Aubrey expectantly, as if to say,  _go ahead._

Then, Aubrey is telling her everything. From the beginning. She’d never heard the story of how her half-sister had been kicked out of the house at age 10 for being a demigod. At least not the full one. Because she knew Aubrey never wanted to scare her. After, Aubrey begins telling her how she realized she was gay and how she’d been closeted for approximately seven years. It registers somewhere in Chloe’s mind that she’s known Aubrey for five. And now Chloe is 20 and Aubrey is 22 (and a half). She can’t even imagine. She can’t imagine being closeted at 15, feeling alone and scared, realizing things about yourself and having no one to talk to about them. Being so scared to be different, because when you were ten the people that were supposed to love you the most kicked you out for it. Having that fear run so deep that you hide who you are.

And she can’t imagine being closeted for seven years. It barely took Chloe any time. She also realized when she was 15, but came out at 16 and just like that started dating Beca. 

Beca never had to come out because everyone was so scared of her. 

But Aubrey. Poor Aubrey, so scared of who she was that she hid it, deep. Because Chloe knew that if it was at the surface, she would’ve already pulled it out. Probably within the first year. And right now, she feels bad about pushing so hard this morning. Asking Aubrey over and over if she was okay. Asking her if she needed anything. She feels bad for leaving. Because suddenly everything is falling into place. Why Aubrey never had any boyfriends, no matter how much Chloe teased her and how much the guys at camp liked her. Why Aubrey never talked about herself. Chloe now understood that the blonde felt like if she started, she would never stop. 

And then both the sisters are crying on the bed in each other’s arms and she feels Beca put her hand on her knee gently, before waving both of them goodbye. She sees Aubrey mouth a soft thank you,  it warms her heart.

Aubrey whispers out an, “I’m sorry,” after she hears Beca shut the door. And that just makes Chloe hug her tighter, because  _gods, she’s the one that’s sorry._

But then Aubrey’s whispering that she’s still not ready, and she’s still so afraid. And Chloe nods her understanding into her older sister’s shoulder and the blonde breathes a sigh of relief.

~~~

Not wanting to tell anyone changes sixth months later, when Aubrey meets Emily. She’s an ambassador from the other camp, Camp Jupiter. She’s 18 and probably the prettiest girl the blonde has ever met. She’s actively trying her best not to stutter through every word, but from Beca’s smirk and Chiron’s amused glance, she knows she’s utterly failing. She wants to tell them to stop. But she can’t help but smile widely when Emily takes her arm and asks her to lead her around campus. Before she leaves the house, Beca gives her the “ _I’m telling Chloe look,”_ and she knows she’s done for. 

While Emily is dragging her around camp wanting to look at everything, it warms her heart. Because this girl was so cute and pure. Especially the way she holds on to her is gentle but firm and when her eyes light up it’s like everything is going to be okay.  _And wow, she is gay_. 

She barely realizes she’s been walking with Emily since right after breakfast and it’s now lunchtime. She doesn’t remember the last time she felt so content. Even when she and Chloe were younger and would stay up. Because Aubrey had never had a sister and neither had Chloe, and it was nice to have someone to share things with. But nothing compared to the feeling she had right now. Somewhere mixed between excitement and just…  _knowing._

It’s almost humorous how big Emily’s eyes get when she sees all the food and the “oh my stars,” that follows practically makes her melt. She’d never heard a demigod say that, and she’ll give up her bow for a whole month if it’s not the cutest thing she’s ever heard. As Emily drags her over by her arm, she stumbles, lost in thought. Because she knew she liked girls, but she’s never felt this way about someone so quickly. Or ever. 

She begins to explain to Emily how things work at CHB and that they split up at the tables by godly parent. But when Emily pouts that she doesn’t want to go Vulcan (Hephaestus) table alone, she smiles softly and brings her over to the Apollo table where Beca and Chloe are already sitting. This is the first mention that the brunette has made of her parent, but she realizes how well it fits her. 

Emily was warm, kind and Aubrey could already tell had a great eye for design and structure, just from the way Emily stared around in awe of the buildings and even looked at the weapons and tools in admiration. And a small corner of Aubrey’s mind can’t help but wonder  _just how good this girl is with her hands._ And then she kicks herself, because she definitely, really should  _not_  be thinking about an almost stranger that way. 

She hops out of her introspection just in time not to slam into the table and make a fool of herself. Chloe notices the close call and can’t stop herself from smiling around her fork which earns her a good-natured slap on the back of her head. Emily looks at her questioningly and the blonde just smiles and waves her off, signaling it wasn’t important. 

Before she knows it, she’s deep in conversation with the pretty brunette and she knows that Beca and Chloe are looking on in amusement, but she can’t find it in herself to care. Aubrey promises to take her to the forge after lunch (despite her responsibilities as a counselor), but she knows Chloe will cover for her if she asks.

Lunch is soon over, which quickly leads to Aubrey is being dragged off again. Before they head out, the blonde asks her sister if she could  _please_  cover her shift. The red head just nods with a suggestive smile, which earns a pointed look. As promised, Aubrey leads the brunette to the forge and does her best to show her around (though she doesn’t know much). Pretty much immediately they’re talking some more and Emily is smiling broadly at her and they’ve devolved from their conversation about the forge and are just talking about themselves. Aubrey learns that Emily likes to sing when she’s building, but she always gets into trouble because she’s always singing way louder than she intended. Emily learns that Aubrey also sang and knew how to shoot a damn straight arrow. What Aubrey didn’t tell was that she was far from what her arrows were.

That afternoon, Aubrey dropped Emily off at the house on her way.. She waved her goodbye, but before she could leave Emily pulled her into a long hug. Blushing profusely, the blonde wished the guest a good evening and then went to shoot arrows. She sings softly to herself, and all the campers were staring. Because they hadn’t even heard Aubrey hum a note for more than a couple months. They’re all happy for her, but confused as to what changed so quickly.

A couple hours later, she headed back to her cabin, after testing a bow and arrow stupid Bumper Allen said she wouldn’t be able to handle, and hitting every bullseye. She felt content with herself, sticking it to that jerk of a child of Ares.

When the blonde gets back to the cabin she’s not surprised to see that Beca is in Chloe’s bed. But she is surprised to see that the redhead is up and awake. She normally isn’t at this hour.

As soon as she closes the door, Chloe sits down and says, “tell us everything!”

“Oh my gods,” she groans. She resists the urge to change the subject to talk about how she just bested Bumper in a shooting contest. It’s better to get this out of the way first.

Beca is just smirking, but Chloe keeps pushing. “What’s she like?”

“Beautiful,” Aubrey breathes before she can stop herself. She kicks herself for what seems like the tenth time today, because she knows Chloe is going to take that and run with it.

“Oh my-!!!” Chloe stands up, “you like her!!!!!!!?”

“Shut up,” Aubrey hisses.

“Does Aubrey Posen have feelings for someone?” Beca finally joined in.

“Oh my gods, you’re unbelievable,” the blonde groans before taking off her shirt to change into a ratty tank top.

She freezes as Chloe squeals and points at the door. Even Beca is smiling. She turns around to see Emily in the window with her fist to the door, ready to knock. And gods she’s just realizing she’s not even wearing a shirt. Also, that her little sister is still pointing and squealing. Sometimes she can’t believe Chloe. And  _oh my gods_ , put your shirt on.

She pulls on her tank top as quick as she can before grabbing her keys and whisper yelling, “don’t wait up, you better not,” and slamming the door shut. She catches Beca’s smirk and Chloe’s wide grin before she leaves. She doesn’t have it in herself to be annoyed, though. Because one Emily Junk is standing on her porch.

What she forgets is that the porch really is narrow, and suddenly her face is so closed to Emily’s. Due to this, for the first time she’s noticing how dark the other girl’s eyes are. At the same time, those eyes are darting around her face, noticing how brilliantly blue Aubrey’s are, and she studies her laugh lines. And then Emily’s eyes are darting all over the blonde girl, noticing for the first time how fit and muscular she is. She can faintly see the girl’s toned stomach through the old tank top, and she’s suddenly thankful for her timing.

Aubrey knows they’ve been standing there for a bit. And that her sister and her girlfriend are inside probably watching. So she clears her throat and jerks her head to the dining pavilion, “do you wanna talk over there?”

Emily just nods at her, and before the blonde can stop her, grabs the other girl’s hand. They walk toward the pavilion hand in hand, and before she can stop herself Aubrey whispers, “it’s past curfew.”

At that, Emily laughs saying that she got permission from Chiron and that I would be okay. Aubrey smiles and can’t help but feel her heart swell at the sound of such a beautiful laugh. “Okay then,” she says. They sit down at the Apollo table, even though it’s not required. Aubrey just always felt most comfortable there. 

Emily smiles again, before saying, “I have something for you. Made something.”

And Aubrey just looks at her in disbelief, because they’d only just met today. Because she didn’t think it could be so easy. And when did Emily have time to make something?

It’s at this moment she registers the brunette taking a small box out of her pocket and opening it. She gasps at how beautiful it is. It’s simple, but beautiful. It was a Stygian iron chain, with a silver bow charm.

She manages to breath out a thank you, before asking, “why? I mean, thank you, but we’ve only known each other for a day.”

“Yeah, but I just found out I have to head back to tonight,” the brunette says back.

“Oh,” she responds, trying not to sound too disappointed.

“I was sad too, when I got the call.” Emily pauses, figuring out her next words carefully. “I was,” she stutters. “I was really looking forward to getting to know you better. 

“Me too,” the blonde breathes.

“And I thought I’d leave you something, that could maybe give me a reason to come back?”

“What do you mean?” Aubrey couldn’t take her eyes off the girl next to her.

“Well, with necklaces like these, you collect charms. And you change it. One for each month or godly parent, whichever one you like. Either way it’d be twelve, so I’d need to come back-.”

“Yes,” Aubrey interrupts. “I’d love for you to come back. For the charm.”

“Does it have to be just for the charm?” Emily questions.

“Was it ever just about the charm?” Aubrey shoots back.

“Definitely not.” Neither girl had realized how close together they’d gotten. Their noses were practically brushing and their legs were touching.

Emily still had the necklace clutched in her hand, but quickly put it down on the table in favor of grabbing Aubrey’s hand.

“I know we just met. But I think you’re amazing. And crazy beautiful. And  _reallyprettyandwayoutofmyleague, butIthinkImightreallylikeyou_.” Emily rambles, but then takes a deep breath when Aubrey smiles at her amusedly. “And it’s terrifying.” She finishes, still looking deeply into Aubrey’s eyes.

“I think I really like you too,” the blonde smiled, saying it more calmly. But thank the gods Emily has no idea what’s going on in her head. Which included a lot of curses and  _‘what’s happenings.’_

Emily smiles widely at her words. She’s at a loss for her own, but she hopes that the look in her eyes is enough. Her breath hitches when Aubrey stares back at her with brilliant blue eyes that she would happily drown in. They sit there for what feels like an eternity, neither one of them wanting to break the moment. 

But then Aubrey manages to get out,“Do you want to put it on?” She gestured to the beautiful necklace Emily had made.

The brunette didn’t want to admit that she basically forgot about it, getting so lost in everything that is Aubrey. 

“O-of course,” Emily stuttered out.  _Oh my stars._

Aubrey smiled at her again, before lifting her hair up. Emily scoots closer, putting the chain around her neck without having Aubrey turn around. Which makes her realize that now they’re very very close. And they could kiss if they wanted to. And she swears Aubrey glanced down at her lips.  _Stars, why did she think this was a good idea? Why hadn’t she just asked the blonde to turn around? Because she knows she likes this girl. And wow she’s such a fool._

As she attempts to blindly hook the chain, she’s still looking at Aubrey. And the blonde’s eyes keep flickering down. As quickly as she can, the brunette gets the chain in place and simultaneously resolves that Aubrey definitely does want to kiss her. Emily settles back onto the bench, she had been on her knees to reach behind Aubrey’s neck. Before she can stop herself, the brunette pulls the blonde closer by the front of her tank top. When they’re inches apart she whispers, “is this okay?”

“More than,” Aubrey groans softly, before pressing her lips to Emily’s.

And  _gods_ , for Aubrey, it’s one of the best things she’s ever felt. The brunette’s lips are soft and warm, everything she thought they would be and more. This is the first time she’s ever  _really_  kissed someone. There was that one time when she kissed that guy in fourth grade. But she never counted that (who does?). Besides, this so much better than anything else that ever could’ve happened. And having Emily’s arm wrapped around her waist just feels  _so right._ More right than she ever thought possible.  

And for Emily it’s like fireworks. Because she’s kissed people of all genders, but  _by golly_ this is the best kiss she’s ever had. And she’s never kissed someone  _this pretty._ And it makes Emily feel giddy. 

And it probably wasn’t that long of a kiss, no more than a 15 seconds but it  _felt_  so long. 

When they break apart Aubrey smiles softly, before saying, “do you have to go?” 

Emily’s face falls, but she nods. “Something’s going on apparently. The Augur is being crazy again.”

Aubrey may not be Roman, but she knows what that means. Basically the person who predicts their prophecies is acting out. And that’s never good. “That’s too bad, I wish you could stay.”

“Me too,” Emily smiles. 

“When will you be here again?” Aubrey finds herself asking. She never cares about people coming back, but for some reason this is different. 

“I’m not sure. Maybe I can come back next month? I can probably convince Jesse,” she muses (Aubrey has no idea who Jesse is, but if he’ll let Emily come back then she sure likes him). “I’ll tell him it’s for  _work,”_ Emily laughs again. 

“Okay,” the blonde smiles wider. “I’m just work now?” She can’t help but tease the other girl. 

“You’re not just anything,” Emily says, suddenly serious. “You’re brilliant.” 

Aubrey finds herself blushing at those words. Because no one had ever said that. To herself, she was always  _just_ something _._ And then she finds herself scooting closer to the brunette again and grabbing her hand. “So, can we-” she blushes again, looking away. 

“Can we what?,” Emily says, lifting Aubrey’s chin so that the blonde has to look at her. 

“Can we try?” Emily looks at her surprisedly, which makes Aubrey nervous. “I mean, we don’t have to. If this is just a one time thing, then we can just go back and that’s okay. But I like you. I  _know_ I like you. I felt something earlier. I-.”

“Yes, we can try,” and suddenly Emily is  _so_ close again. And before she knows it, Emily’s lips are on her’s again. And it’s so beautiful and innocent and it’s everything Aubrey has ever wanted.  _Everything._

They break apart again and Emily whispers, “So I can come back, for the necklace?” She winks, “and for other stuff too?” She gestures to Aubrey. 

“Definitely.” 

~~ 

It’s been a month, and Emily’s coming to CHB today. All the campers had noticed how happy Aubrey has been this past month. They don’t know the reason why, all they know is that she’s making them do less running. Beca and Chloe have noticed too. They notice the way Aubrey absentmindedly fiddles with the new necklace around her neck, the one she never takes off. They notice how Aubrey leaves to take an Iris message the same time every day. They notice that Aubrey seems content with everything, with life. They’re happy to see her happy. The two young women know that a certain brunette is the reason.

It’s around 3pm when Emily arrives, and when the blonde gets word that Emily is back she runs to the entrance. The brunette sees her coming and drops her bags just in time for Aubrey to come barreling toward her. And it’s suddenly like this huge weight is lifted off of the blonde and she doesn’t care who knows that she’s gay. Because she really likes this girl and that’s all that matters. So she kisses Emily. In front of everyone. She hears a few gasps but she can’t find it in herself to care because suddenly her legs are wrapped around the other girl, and Emily has her arms around her waist. She feels a shiver up her spine, as Emily holds onto her tighter. And when they pull back she hears Chiron coming through. She internally groans when she sees the teasing look on his face, “Aubrey! What have I said about PDA?!” (It’s important to note in this moment that they’ve never had a conversation about it in her life).

“ _Oh my gods,”_ she groans, before jumping down from Emily’s waist. She can hear Chloe and a couple other of her friends laughing somewhere in the back, and then she hears a guy say, “ _that’s so hot_.” And then the unmistakeable sound of Beca punching the guy. She can’t help but smile. And then Emily starts laughing and buries her face into the blonde’s shoulder, and Aubrey can’t help content look that shows on her face.

~~

Later that night, it’s just her and Emily again, sitting on the dock. And the brunette says, “I’m so proud of you.”

Aubrey can’t help but blush. Because she knows exactly what the other girl is talking about. She doesn’t say anything, instead taking the brunette’s hand, only to find something in it. Another charm. She can’t help but smile at that. “What’s this?” She asks softly, looking shyly at Emily.

“It’s a hammer charm. It, um,” Emily pauses. “It represents me,” the girl hesitates. “That way, you can always have me with you. That is, if you’ll have me?”

The blonde can’t help but bite her lip softly at that, to stop herself from grinning. “Are you asking me to be your girlfriend, Emily?”

“Only if you’ll have me,” the brunette repeats.

Aubrey nods slowly, before taking the charm from Emily and fisting it tightly in her hand. “Of course I want you,” she whispers against the other girl’s lips. She sees the brunette’s eyes flicker down, once, twice. Aubrey thinks for a split second about teasing her now girlfriend, but her will is broken when Emily’s tongue pokes out and licks her lips. She can’t help it, and leans forward and kisses the other girl, and it’s perfect, the way they fit together. She finally understands. Why all of the pain of figuring things out is worth it. Why all the nights of regret were necessary… It’s so that you can have an amazing girl. Who’s stunningly beautiful and makes you necklaces. Who will Iris message you every night because you miss her so much. Who will bring you charms for every month after that, and then find excuses to come visit you. It’s so that you can be happy. Because even if she’s never met her real father (he’s much too busy), she has learned one thing from him and his sister, Artemis. You can’t have the sun without the moon. That’s why Beca and Chloe work so well. And that’s why, she’d like to think, Emily and her work so well. 

It in this moment that she realizes, sometimes you need to leave to find where you belong. Because without what happened to her, she wouldn’t have met all the most important people in her life. Chloe, Emily, Chiron, even Beca.

Then suddenly, she’s crying into the kiss. Which makes Emily pull back, and ask, “babe, what’s wrong? Why are you crying?”

Aubrey smiles softly with tears in her eyes. “I’m crying because.” She doesn’t know how to say everything she’s feeling. Everything she’s thinking. So she settles for, “because I finally understand.”


	5. The Basement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or the time Emily just had to call Aubrey because the basement was so freaking scary

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is more light hearted and sweet and it's a bit pre-relationship. EMILY HAS A BIG CRUSH.

Everyone knows the basement of the Bellas house is haunted. It’s not a theory. It’s a fact. But soon to be sophomore Emily Junk doesn’t know that.

So when Beca and Chloe leave her the keys and say, “don’t go in the basement, it’s haunted,” she thinks they’re joking. They’re not.

Which is how she got into this situation in the first place. Specifically frantically calling all the old Bellas that she knows will pick up the phone, starting with Chloe, (who’s only response was humming, “we told you”), then Beca (who seemed to have more important things to do, the main one being a certain redhead), and then one Aubrey Posen.

She can feel Aubrey smiling on the other side of the phone, as the blonde responds, “it is pretty scary down there. What was it this time?” And oh em aca-gee, why did she think it was a good idea to call her crush about being afraid of a basement? Because now she’s melting, because this beautiful, amazing girls wants to talk to her and believes her story. She doesn’t know why it surprises her, but it still feels nice.

Embarrassed, she squeaks out that all the lights flickered out at once and that she swears the portable fan was moving even though it wasn’t plugged in.

What she’s not ready for is a hearty laugh on the other side. She doesn’t know whether to feel offended, or to let her heart swell at the sound, it’s practically music. But then theres an apology, “sorry, it’s just, the same thing happened to me when I became a sophomore. The other girls sent me down there and I recall exactly that.”

“Really?” She yelled surprisedly, probably too loudly, into the phone. She could hear a wince and could imagine Aubrey holding the phone a bit away from her ear.

“Yeah, really,” she heard another good natured chuckle, and then a car door slamming shut. “Do you want to talk about it? It didn’t freak me out as much because I assumed it was just the girls playing tricks, but now that it’s only you in the house…” Emily got the picture. It was creepy.

“I’d like that,” the brunette blurted out.

“Good, cause I’m at the door.” She heard two knocks at the same time as the blonde’s words and she practically flew off the couch to open the front door.

“Aubrey?!” They both still had the phones to their ears.

“Hey,” the older girl says sheepishly, before hanging up the phone.

“What are you doing here?” Of course, Emily was excited to see her, just surprised that the blonde was actually there.

“Well I came to see Chloe, but she seemed, um, busy,” the blonde looked both very disgusted and embarrassed at the same time.

“Was Beca there?” Emily’s expression mirroring the older girl’s.

“Yeah, it was aca-awful,” Aubrey groaned

“I tried calling earlier, it seemed like Beca was doing…. stuff,” she cringed at how it she sounded.

“Gross.” The blonde wrinkled her nose, but then brightened. “Tell me about your supernatural experience.” The brunette knew Aubrey was half teasing her, but she couldn’t find it in herself to be in anyway defensive. Because this girl’s smile makes her weak at the knees, and her eyes light up the room and suddenly she doesn’t feel scared about what happened in the basement anymore. And she doesn’t feel as lonely as she had been these past couple months, with all the old Bellas clearing out. And somewhere she clocks in her mind that Aubrey is here because she wants to be. Because she could’ve gone somewhere else, but the blonde was here to check on her, to see her. She barely registers Aubrey leading her over to the couch kindly, and then prompting her to begin once more.

As Emily recounted what happened in more detail, the blonde just listened and nodded. Engrossed in the telling of the story, she doesn’t know when Aubrey took her hand or when they got so close together. All she knows is that Aubrey’s smiling softly while listening to her, and that she’s suddenly rambling on and on. Because it’s not everyday that a pretty girl like Aubrey would want to hear about her experience with their haunted basement.

But there she was, and before she knew it, it had been an hour. She’s gotten past her ghost story and now they were just laughing and talking, Aubrey recounting her own, Beca’s, and Chloe’s experience with the basement. Aubrey explaining the three instances in which she had allowed her red headed best friend to go down to the basement alone (which all ended in Chloe slamming the door fearfully and declaring she would never go down there again). Their knees are touching and Emily is leaning on her left elbow, and Aubrey can’t seem to stop cracking jokes. And Emily is laughing, hard, harder than she has in months. She’s never felt so content.

And then suddenly it’s 6pm and she feels hungry (for food). And before she can stop herself she asks Aubrey to dinner. For once she can thank her big mouth.

And when Aubrey responds that she’d love to go, she mentally jumps for joy. And then they’re off, riding to a hole in the wall Italian diner in Aubrey’s Chevy truck. And the blonde has her window down slightly, and her hair is blowing slightly in the wind. And wow Emily’s never felt more attracted to anyone in her life.

Dinner goes well, Emily only blurting out a couple of unnecessary things that definitely should have stayed in her head. And Aubrey is so nice. She wonders why everyone is so scared of older woman. Chloe said that the blonde had a soft spot for her.

Their meal feels like it ends too soon, even though they’d been there for a good two hours, eating and talking. Aubrey drives her home, they don’t really talk in the car but somehow their hands had found each other in the comfortable silence. And when the blonde jumps out of the car and opens her door for her she practically becomes a puddle on the spot. Then before she knows it, Aubrey is asking her if they can have dinner the same time next week, she’s saying yes, and the blonde is beaming. And then Aubrey is kissing her on the cheek, lingering perhaps just a bit too long, and a bit too close, but she’s not complaining.

Emily smiles broadly watching Aubrey drive away and sends a small wave in the direction of the car. Aubrey waves back. Emily doesn’t think she could smile any wider and definitely feels some butterflies in her stomach when Aubrey rolls down the window just to smile at her.

Emily shifts between her feet until she sees Aubrey’s car turn the corner. She then unlocks the door and runs down to the basement. Turning on the lights, she breathes a loud thank you, thinking it only proper to thank whoever (or whatever) got her to spend time with her long time crush in the first place. She doesn’t get a response, but the lights flicker once, as though acknowledging her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The Basement is canonically haunted in Pitch Perfect, never forget that


	6. The Room of Requirement

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or the events of how Emily and Aubrey get together, with a little help from Beca, Chloe and a lot of time spent in the Room of Requirement

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Harry Potter AU TIMEEEE also Enemies to Lovers.

Aubrey Posen has never gotten detention in her life. As soon as McGonagall declares it, she knows that however it happens, her father will hear about this. (She won’t tell him herself, because she wouldn’t be able to handle the disappointment written into a halfhearted response). Her father always hears about everything. Thank the lord he doesn’t know… certain things about her. Like the fact that she hates potions with a passion (even though her father urged her to love it all her life). And thank Slytherin he doesn’t know she likes girls. Because that would really break things. It would end things.  _Her father is ever the traditionalist_ , she can’t help but think.

Still, even if the punishment isn’t what her father would’ve given her for breaking the rules (it’d be much more intense), she can’t help but internally groan at the thought of scrubbing, especially over something so stupid. Aubrey’s not even sure what happened. She remembers Bumper making fun of Chloe, and then suddenly she’s punching him in the nose. What she doesn’t notice right away is Emily Junk (her worst enemy, Emily Junk) doing the same to Donald.

Now, hear her out. She knows everyone ‘ _loves_ ’ Emily, but she just… doesn’t. First of all, Emily is a muggleborn (okay, that’s a low blow. Aubrey doesn’t actually have anything against muggleborns, more like her father hates them, so she has to too). She also faces Emily in Quidditch, they play the same position, seeker. They’re equally matched, so it’s always a toss up. And Aubrey absolutely hates that. Because the blonde can normally train to beat someone, but  _Emily,_ she has natural talent, that Aubrey just can’t get around. She can’t deny that Emily is good. They’ve traded games all season, and after every one they lose, she gets a letter from her father telling her how she needs to step up, because she’s a Posen. And Posens don’t lose.

So she’s surprised to find Emily punching Donald. She wouldn’t expect that from the normally peaceful brunette, but then she remembers something else they have in common. They both love Chloe. A lot. When they’re caught, it’s all a whirlwind, of argument and then the head of Gryffindor conjuring bags of ice out of thin air (who knew that something on Bumper could actually be  _hard_?), she guesses she expected it a bit more from Donald. She smirks at that, but quickly stops it as McGonagall gives her a pointed look. “Detention,” the professor declares.

Which is specifically how she got into this situation. And by situation she means scrubbing plates and trophies late into the night with Emily Junk of all people. She’d rather scrub on her own all night than me in the same room as the Hufflepuff. Emily attempts to make small talk, but it’s quickly thwarted, as Aubrey wholly ignores her until detention for the night is over.

~~

The second night Emily tries to talk to her again. Of course, she won’t have it. “Listen, we may have to scrub together, but I still don’t like you. So could you just, stick to your side?”

Emily smiles to herself a little, before nodding.

They don’t talk again that night.

~~

The third night she catches Emily staring a couple times, and the blonde gets the fifth year to stop with just a look. She can’t deny that the brunette has very pretty eyes. It’s the first time she’s noticed. She’s never really taken the time to look before.

~~

The fourth night, Aubrey almost breaks. Because this girl is actually very pretty, and Aubrey never did do well around pretty girls (even if they’re her worst enemy). She definitely shouldn’t be thinking about how this girl is attractive. Her father would have her head.

At that thought, she turns away and keeps to herself the rest of the night.

~~

The fifth night, Aubrey finally cracks.

It’s almost 11pm, Emily had begun to sing a tune softly to herself. Aubrey can’t deny the younger girl has a beautiful voice. Before she can stop herself, she starts humming along. At that, the brunette smiles at her, saying, “who knew?”

Aubrey can’t help but smile back sadly, “no one.” Her family disproved of music. It wasn’t something that they particularly enjoyed, and they frowned upon anyone who deemed it a profession, and even a hobby. She quickly jerks herself out of her thoughts, because  _why did she just tell the brunette that?_

“Why not?” She finds Emily asking.

“Personal,” Aubrey responds curtly. But she can’t help but wonder why there was a tugging in her gut. For once, to just tell the truth. Because she hates this girl,  _right?_

~~

It’s the sixth (and last) night of detention, and Aubrey feels more comfortable. The two of them manage small talk about Quidditch without getting too angry at each other and they talk about classes. The blonde doesn’t know why, but she finds herself telling the other what to take and what not to. (And, why? Why is she helping her. Her family hates muggleborns. And Hufflepuffs. But she can’t stop. She suddenly sees why people like this girl so much. She kicks herself. She  _hates_ Emily. Despised her, in fact.  _Right_?)

Halfway through the night, Emily says, “y’know, you’re not so bad, Posen?”

It’s the first time she realizes she’s never actually taken the time to get to know Emily. She doesn’t know what’s different, but the blonde thinks she at least ought to give it a try.

“You either, Junk.”

~~

After their bout in detention, the two’s rivalry lessens, they even develop a tentative friendship. Or, now, they’re at least acquaintances, enough so they could stop and chat in the hallway without ripping each other’s heads off. Everyone notices. There’s gossip that the two are together ( _that’ll be the day,_ Aubrey thinks). There’s rumors that the Slytherin sixth year is tutoring Emily. But Aubrey pays no mind to them. Because yes, she and Emily do often meet in the library. And yes, they do often study together. And yes, they do often devolve into hidden smiles and stolen glances. No ones ever seen Aubrey that relaxed. She’s normally so uptight, barking orders at students on the Quidditch team or storming through the halls. People know to get out of her way. The blonde tries to keep up her front, though. Because if her father found out, it would be the end of everything. Emily is  _everything_  her father hates, and for some reason that makes Aubrey like her more. It shouldn’t. But it does. The blonde doesn’t know what’s changed. Suddenly, she doesn’t care what the head of the Posen household thinks of her.

~~

She remembers distinctly one night. When she and Emily can become classified as friends. Close friends even. Aubrey was having a particularly bad day, having just received a letter from her father, telling her he was disappointed in her midterm grades (she has no idea how he got them, because she hasn’t even seen them yet). She had been hiding in the entrances to one of the secret passages, crying for the past fifteen minutes. His words hadn’t ever done this to her, in fact she had come to expect them. She’s learned to ignore them, not let him pierce her heart. She’s learned to be cold to nearly everyone. But for some reason, the raw disappointment in his writing, how it looked like he wrote down everything he was feeling and didn’t even realize he was sending it to his daughter ( _”Simply unacceptable. Posens don’t lose. What a disappointing semester”)._   Maybe it was meant for one of his employees? It was so curt. And tight lipped. He had always been mean, but… never this. And she suddenly imagines telling him that on top of the fact that she’s a disappointment in school, that she’s also gay. She knew he wouldn’t have that. He would tell her it’s wrong. And that makes her lean her head against the wall and cry some more. Because she thought  _maybe,_ maybe she would be able to tell him, one day. But wow, after this? She doubts it.

She does her best to dry her tears before leaving, what she doesn’t count on is running into Emily. Emily who now knows her well, who whispers, “you’ve been crying,” because she knows that even if Aubrey is ‘soft’ with her (as she likes to put it), the blonde has a reputation to uphold.

All Aubrey can do is nod. Because Emily’s words weren’t a question, they were a statement. Quickly, she finds her hand in the brunette’s, who’s leading the way surely. She gets a few strange looks, because no one had ever dared to take Aubrey Posen’s hand. When they reach their destination, it’s just a blank wall, it confuses her. But then Emily is counting the times she’s walked back and forth, she sees a door appear. She can’t gasp, still too shaken up by the letter. However, it does register somewhere in her brain how Hogwarts works in mysterious ways.

Emily takes her hand once more and pulls her into the room. Her breath hitches when she sees it. The room is filled with books and more books (Aubrey always did love books) and there’s a large bed in the corner with two beanbag cushions propped up next to it.

She looks to her left at Emily, who looks just as awed at her. “It’s really outdone itself,” the brunette mutters. She decides not to dwell on the other girl’s words. Aubrey doesn’t realize she’s still crying.

It’s in this moment that Emily looks directly at her and before she can protest, the girl pulls her into a hug. She doesn’t realize how much she needed it. Before she knows it, she’s pressing her nose into the brunette’s shoulder and fisting her fingers into the back of the girl’s white button up. She doesn’t realize how much she’s shaking until Emily hugs her tighter and the movement becomes less. She knows her tears are soaking into the other girl’s shirt, so she tries to pull away to wipe them, but the brunette just keeps her there in her grasp. For some reason, she doesn’t feel trapped. Usually, when someone hugs her she can’t wait to pull away. But not Emily. It feels nice. Emily smells like cinnamon, the vanilla coffee downstairs and something she can’t quite put her finger on. She’s still crying.

After standing there for what feels like eternity (but an eternity she’d be okay with staying in forever), the brunette gently let’s go. Aubrey just stands there. Because now that she’s out of her friends embrace her father’s words echo in her ears in his most disappointed voice. “ _Aubrey, this is simply unacceptable. I have seen your midterm grades. O’s in everything. Except Potions. You got an A. Acceptable. You cannot be just Acceptable, Aubrey. You have to be Outstanding. You know how important Potions is in our family. And besides, in Transfiguration and Charms you were only a percent away from and E. What a disappointing semester. You know you need to clear it by at least 3%, my dear.”_

The words won’t stop. They keep playing. She imagines her father writing them in his study, ignoring her mother’s regular plea to  _please be gentle with their daughter_ , just this once. She doesn’t realize that she hasn’t moved one bit since entering the room. She’s jolted out of her thoughts by a gentle kiss to her forehead. Emily’s lips are soft on her skin, and she can’t stop herself from looking down at the younger girl with helpless blue eyes.

The blonde still hasn’t said a word since Emily had found her in the hallway with tears doing their best not to stream down her face. The brunette was beginning to worry. Chloe had told her vaguely that Aubrey has a strained relationship with her father. As the older girl’s strikingly blue eyes meet her coffee brown ones, the brunette wonders if this has something to do with him. She can’t help but feel like Aubrey is trying to tell her something. Something she can’t put into words. Because the blonde looks, for once, not put together. And Emily can’t help but wonder if she’s the only person to ever see her this way. She doesn’t know whether to feel honored or sickened by this fact. It seems Aubrey has never been able to feel vulnerable around anyone. The brunette hopes that she can show the other girl that it  _is_ okay. 

One of Emily’s habits is that she loosens her tie when she’s nervous. Before she knows it, she’s draping her yellow and black striped tie over one of the chairs next to the bookshelves. She then undoes the top two buttons, like she always does when she gets back from class. 

Aubrey can’t help but stare the bare skin that’s now exposed. It looks tanned, like the girl had been out in the sun, and a tiny piece of her collarbone was exposed. She wonders how that sunkissed skin would fe-. She quickly snaps herself out of it. She should  _not_  be thinking about her friend like that.

Emily catches her staring, so she looks away and attempts to undo her tie own. No one has ever seen her without the signature silver and green tie, but for some reason the brunette makes her feel comfortable,  _understood._ She can’t seem to untie it, though. It must have something to do with her shaking hands. Aubrey attempts it a couple of times, tears still in her eyes, before Emily walks over to her and gently places her hands on top of hers. If the blonde wasn’t so shaken up by previous events, she definitely would be worrying about the fact that a pretty girl like Emily is so close to her. That’s not on her mind right now, though. The brunette looks up at her asking for silent permission, and all Aubrey can do is drop her hands to her sides. With that, Emily begins to loosen the tight knot. The blonde can’t take her eyes of the girl’s face. She studies every inch, the bridge of her nose, her long eyelashes, the way her eyes crinkle when she concentrates. After it’s undone, Emily drapes the Slytherin tie next to her Hufflepuff one, before unbuttoning the top button on Aubrey’s shirt. “This okay?” she asks.

Aubrey finds it in herself to nod, which makes Emily’s eyes clear a bit, relieved. The blonde then finds herself saying, “I’m sorry.” The brunette tries to protest, before the Slytherin girl keeps talking. “If I’m scaring you. I- I didn’t mean for anyone to see me.” 

Emily looks away, before saying,”don’t you see? I”m glad I found you. No one deserves to be alone when they’re sad.” 

“I’m just- not used to this,” she gestures between them as the brunette looks back at her. “Having friends besides Chloe,” she clarifies. 

“Well,” Emily smiles at her. “I’m glad I can be the first. Besides Chloe.” 

“Me too,” Aubrey sighs. “I suppose you’re wondering why I was crying.” 

“Aubrey, you don’t have to-,” the Hufflepuff tries to insist (but she can’t deny that she is curious).

“No,” the Slytherin laughs humorlessly. “I have to talk about it eventually.”

Emily internally winces at how broken the blonde sounds before nodding her understanding and leading Aubrey over to the beanbags. As they settle in, she notices that the blonde can’t seem to get comfortable. The sixth year finally settles for leaning more forward, with her elbows on her knees. Without warning, the blonde begins (she’s not even sure that  _Aubrey_ knows what she’s doing). “I just got a letter from my dad. The usual,” Emily winces at that. Because she can’t imagine the pain in Aubrey’s voice being ‘the usual.’ The girl continues, and the brunette listens respectfully, “telling me how disappointed in me he is. That I need to clear O’s by at least 3%, to get my Potions grade up, because it’s  _important to the family.”_ Aubrey doesn’t know why she says the last four words so sarcastically, she’s  _never_ done that before. She’s usually so respectful of her father.  _What’s changed_? She can’t help but think. She continues, “he always sends me letters. And I don’t know why I’m such an idiot, thinking that maybe one of them will say he’s proud. That for once I did something good. That maybe, just maybe I could be the most important thing in his life.” She looks to her left, to see Emily, who has something resembling sadness and also pity in her eyes. “Don’t pity me,” she finds herself saying (even though she knows the girl means well). 

“I don’t,” Emily says. “I pity your father.” 

“Why?” Aubrey asks, incredulously. 

“Because, he’s missing out on you,” Emily smiles sadly. “He’s missing out on how great you are. How beautiful, and driven, and amazing you’ve become. Because he’s focused on all the wrong things.” 

“I-,” the blonde tries to begin again, fresh tears forming in her eyes.

“No, let me finish,” the brunette insists. “You’re awesome, Aubrey. And if your father can’t see that, then maybe he needs some sense knocked into him.”

Now she’s blushing, and she can’t stop it. Because no one has ever told her that. Sure, Chloe has tried. But she has never let anyone talk like that about her father.  _Why is Emily different? “_ Thanks, Emily.” She realizes this is the first time she’s ever called the brunette by her first name to the girl’s face. It was always “Junk.” The other girl looks just as surprised at her, happy, possibly. 

As Aubrey muses over that detail, she realizes how much she trusts this girl. Not just anyone would be able to lead her around the castle, take her into a mysterious room, undo her tie, undo the top button on her shirt. And she doesn’t just pour her heart out like that to anyone. At that thought, she lets out a breath she didn’t know she was holding and sinks back into the beanbag. She sees Emily grin.  _Her smile is pretty_ , she thinks, almost giddily. Because it is, the way one side comes up a little more, and how Emily smiles not just with her mouth but with her eyes too. And before she knows what she’s doing, before she can stop herself, she finds herself saying, “Emily?” 

The brunette responds, a surprised tone in her voice, “yeah?” 

“I’m gay.” 

“Okay,” Emily smiles at her, softly. 

“But nobody knows. And no one  _can_ know. Because if my father found out-,” Aubrey visibly shook. 

“Don’t worry, I won’t tell anyone,” Emily says softly. “Does… does anyone else know?”

“Only Chloe. And now you.” 

“Why…?” Aubrey looks at her, confusedly. “Why doesn’t anyone else know?” She clarifies, “Beca, maybe?”

“Beca.” The blonde can’t help but smile softly at the thought of her other best friend. “Beca has eyes for Chloe, and that always just made me…” Aubrey wrinkles her nose jokingly. 

“I get what you mean,” Emily smiles back. “So, no one in your family knows?” The brunette doesn’t mean to pry, she just wants to understand the girl sitting in front of her a bit more. “You don’t have to answer that,” she tacks on. 

“No, no it’s okay.” Aubrey breathes in deeply, contemplating her words, it seems. “I realized in third year, but I pushed it down inside myself for so long, because of what my father would think, because he wouldn’t never approve of the ‘choice’ that I made. I want him to be proud of me. And if anyone in the family knew, it would interfere with that. I’ve tried for his love for so long. To be what he wants me to be, be-because being myself, who I want to be, was never an opinion I was supposed to have.”

“Who do you want to be?” Emily asks.

“I don’t know yet, and that’s what’s so terrifying,” Aubrey admits.

“But isnt that the beauty of it? The not knowing? The finding out? Isn’t the beauty in the journey?” The brunette questions softly.

“I guess? Maybe.” The blonde smiles, “wow you’re a lot smarter than a lot of fifth years that I know.”

“Thanks, I try,” the brunette says sarcastically. She then finds herself sharing, something she tends to do with her closer friends. “I’m pan, or I guess open to love wherever I can find it. I mean my family would never have any qualms about gender as long as I’m happy.” She doesn’t want Aubrey to feel bad, but she also wants her to know that there  _are_  people out there. People who will love her, and respect her for who she is. She hopes that the blonde knows she’s one of those people.

“You’re lucky,” Aubrey smiles, she looks genuinely happy for her (she wouldn’t blame the blonde if she wasn’t).

“I know I am,” Emily replies, fiddling with one of the buttons on her shirt, “But I want you to know you’re not alone

“Thanks.” Aubrey realizes this is the first time they’ve actually talked. They’ve exchanged certain stories but this is the first time she’s ever told anyone about her life at home (about her father), besides Chlo. She’s glad Emily shared too. She feels so much closer to her. And she likes it. She’s glad she finally took the time to get to know Emily because it was so worth it.

~~

After their talk in (what Aubrey learns is called) the Room of Requirement, the two become even closer. They spend time studying in there, now that both of them can get in. The blonde finds that every book she needs is on the shelf, ready and waiting, and that if she needs a quill it suddenly appears. She finds herself there, late into the night studying. Sometimes, she falls asleep on top of her books and when she wakes up someone has covered her with a blanket (Emily). She does the same for the brunette when it happens to her. People, especially Chloe and Beca notice that  _sometimes_ Aubrey isn’t in her room, but they don’t say anything. They know that the blonde can take care of herself (and Chloe knows that she’s with Emily). 

Their rivalry, still ever present, when they play quidditch is less intense and much more playful. It confuses many of the players, and they think that maybe their respective captains have gone soft, but then they see that their playing is still as up to par as ever and they shrug it off. 

Aubrey’s not dumb, or blind. She knows she’s attracted to Emily. Because Emily is amazing at Quidditch  **(and it’s so _damn_ hot)**, Emily loosens her tie around Aubrey and keeps it hanging around her neck when it’s undone  **(Aubrey doesn’t know why, but it makes her feel _things)_** , Emily speaks to her intellectually and can actually keep up  **(and it makes her happy)** , Emily can talk about Quidditch for hours  **(and it’s so adorable)** , most of all, Emily makes her feel  **safe**. 

But there’s no chance in hell that Emily feels the same way. And besides, she’s way out of Aubrey’s league. Aubrey’s never felt this intensely about anyone. It’s… odd. But nice. 

~~~

And Emily… is Emily. She realizes her feeling pretty quick, she realizes that she’s liked this girl since that night in the Room of Requirement. Maybe earlier. But Aubrey  _definitely_  doesn’t feel the same way. Because Aubrey is brave and beautiful and brilliant and amazing. And Emily is just… Emily. The awkward fifth year who somehow befriended the hottest, smartest and most feared person in the sixth year. She honestly doesn’t know what she did. 

~~

What the two girls don’t know, is that their best friends Beca and Chloe are watching them dance around each other. And while it might be painful for the blonde and brunette, it’s even more painful for them. 

One morning, Beca groans after the two quidditch players leave the table, “they’re so so so so useless,” banging her head on the dining table. “What’re we gonna do. I can’t take much more of this.”

Chloe snorts, before saying, “Bec, I’ll take Aubrey-” 

“Oh thank god,” Beca groans again. 

Chloe laughs before saying, “if you take Emily.”

“Please, no. I can barely handle that girl as is. How am I gonna tell her that the girl she’s crushing on likes her.”

“Do your usual.” 

~~

Emily’s surprised when later that day, Beca of all people pulls her aside to talk. It’s a short conversation, but it leaves her with a lot to think about. 

Beca starts with, “so, y’know Aubrey?” 

(She laughs  _of course_ she knows Aubrey). 

“Yeah.” 

“She likes you.” 

“Wha-,” Emily starts to ask a question. 

“Okay, gotta go, bye!” 

(Beca’s pretty sure she could’ve done worse). 

~~

“Hey, Bree,” Chloe walks in cheerfully. 

“What do you want, Chloe,” Aubrey narrows her eyes. “You only call me that when you want something.” 

“I want to talk to you about something,” the redhead sits down on her bed. 

“Okay, what is it?” 

“Emily,” the girl says lightly.

“ _Oh my-,”_ the blonde starts to groan.

“Breeeee, she likes you!!” Aubrey rolls her eyes. “I mean it, why don’t you just go for it?”

“Because, she’s so… so!” The blonde looks away from her best friend, “and I’m just, me.” 

“Come on, Aubrey! Don’t you see? She likes you for who you-,” Chloe gets interrupted. 

“My father can’t find out!” The blonde snaps out, “he can’t ever know. He can’t. If he did, if he knew, if I, If,” she begins to dissolve onto her bed. “Don’t you think I want to? Don’t you think I haven’t thought about it? Don’t you  _think_ that  _me_ of all people would just go for it!” She doesn’t realize she’s yelling now, “Don’t you think that I want to be happy?!?!” 

“Aubrey, I didn’t mean-,” the redhead starts, but is interrupted. 

“I don’t care what you meant- I, I can’t talk about this.” 

~~

Her thoughts are going a mile a minute. Emily  _likes_ her.  _Really likes her?_ A crush was okay when she thought it was unrequited, but now.  _How can she do this to Emily? To herself?_ She knows this could never work, however much she wants it to. As she walks down the hall, absentmindedly tracing the path to the Room of Requirement, she keeps thinking. 

When she gets there, she hopes that Emily isn’t inside. But  _of course_ she is. When she sees the other girl (who still has so much hope in her eyes), her heart flutters involuntarily.  _She should stop this before it starts._

Before she knows what she’s saying, it’s coming out of her mouth, “I can’t do this anymore.”  _What’s she doing??_ It’s like she’s watching it from the outside. 

“What? Why not?” Emily’s face was falling. She looked away, knowing she wouldn’t be able to go through with this if she had to look at the beautiful girl. Aubrey stays quiet. “Is it, is it because of your father?“

The blonde begins to try to explain, “I-,” (the simple answer is  _yes, yes it’s because of my father and I really like you, and… and… and…,_ but she can’t get any of that out).

”No, no you don’t get to do this because your scared, Aubrey!” Emily comes closer, “face your fear! I’m here for you.”

“Stop! Just, stop!! Don’t you understand?” They’re both getting louder by the minute, “I don’t know who I am anymore! How can you- how can you say you’re there, if you don’t know who I am. If you don’t really know me? You don’t know the things that have happened between me and my father! You’ll never understand.” 

“I can’t pretend to understand, but I want to. I want to know you. Because you’re my friend.”  _More?_ whispers in the back of her mind, but the brunette does her best to ignore it. 

Aubrey goes for the low blow, “You’re a Hufflepuff, for god sakes!” Emily looks visibly hurt. Somewhere in the back of her mind, the blonde is telling herself to stop talking. That she’s ruining everything, but that tiny voice is getting softer and softer. “You’re trained to believe everything is going to be okay. That’s who you are. I’m a Slytherin. Cunning, trained with the stereotype that we are bad. That we should be feared. We were never meant to work,”  _as friends_  she tries to get out, but she knows she means  _as more. “_ My dad would kill me if he ever knew.” 

“Being a Slytherin and your father’s daughter aren’t the only things you are, Aubrey!” Emily is still getting closer to her, probably too close. “You’re smart, and funny, and a great friend.” The brunette was begging with her eyes, “you love quidditch and music but all you want is to please your gosh darn father all the time! Why can’t you stop that for one moment?” The fifth year attempts to get through to her. 

“What right do I have to say who I am? I’m only sixteen!” Aubrey laughs humorlessly, the same laugh she heard their first night in the Room of Requirement, it still gives her chills. “Who am I to say that this right here is who I am? How do I know that what my father says isn’t right? How do I know that I shouldn’t listen to him? How do I know that I’ve picked the right people in my life? How do I know picking you to be here was the right choice?”

“Picking me?! Picking me,” she repeats. This is the first time she’s ever really gotten angry at Aubrey since their friendship began. “I’m here because I want to be! If you don’t want me, just let me know and I’ll go!”

“Emily, I’m sorry!” The blonde attempts to apologize. “I didn’t mean that! I was just angry and scared and-.”

“Then what did you mean?” The brunette has looked away, trying to collect herself. Aubrey attempts to start again, but it’s weak. “That’s what I thought.” The younger girl makes an attempt to leave.

And suddenly, the blonde is powerless. She looks as though she’s now just realizing everything she’s said. Like she hasn’t been all there the past seven minutes of the argument. “No wait,” Aubrey’s eyes are pleading, “please don’t go.”

“I can’t do  _this.”_ It’s so hard not to give in. Especially when Aubrey is looking at her like that, but she does her best to stay strong. “If you don’t want me, I can’t.” 

She makes another move to leave, but Aubrey’s hand shoots out to grab Emily’s. it surprises her, because the blonde had never made any move to initiate physical contact. It was always Emily that hugged the other girl when she looked stiff, or grabbed her hand when she was feeling particularly lonely. 

As Emily is forced to turn back, Aubrey takes in a shaky breath before pulling the girl to her ( _god she hopes Chloe’s right)._ Aubrey places her forehead against the brunette’s before whispering again, “please, don’t go.” And then, Aubrey kisses her. She doesn’t want to ( _or thinks she doesn’t want to_ ), but before she knows it she’s kissing the the blonde back and it’s probably the best thing that’s ever happened to her. Aubrey’s lips are soft and warm and the blonde tastes like coffee, lavender and salt. She doesn’t know why the last one, until she cups the blonde’s cheek to deepen the kiss and feels tears streaming down the other girl’s face. She wipes them away, as they come, before breaking away softly. 

“Please don’t go,” Aubrey whispers again, so softly she can barely hear it. In this moment, she sees the helplessness she saw the first night resurface. Those striking blue eyes, asking her, begging her, to stay. 

And she can’t say no. Because wow, she really likes this girl (and it seems like the Slytherin girl reciprocates her feelings). And she can’t say no. So instead she says, “okay, I won’t. I won’t go.” Emily hears the blonde sigh relievedly, before grabbing Aubrey’s tie and pulling the girl back into a kiss. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed as always I'm @handsinaca-pitches on tumblr


	7. Family

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> They've built an odd family, the Bellas have. But it's the best one a lot of them have ever had.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I love the dynamic between all of the Bellas and wanted to write something about found family

“Mmmm, smells good,” Emily smiles as she feels sure arms wrap around her waist. It’s the brunette’s turn to cook dinner in the Bella’s house, and her girlfriend had come to visit for the weekend. “You know what’s even more delicious?” The girl at the stove shivers, as Aubrey whispers in her ear.

“What?” The brunette asks, playing innocently along.

“You,” Aubrey growls, before turning off the stove and swinging a giggling Emily around to pin her against the island. Aubrey begins kissing her neck and sucking softly on her pulse point.

“Aubrey,” Emily groans, pulling the blonde’s head closer to her. She knows she should probably put a stop to this, because they’re in the kitchen. But she can’t. Not when Aubrey’s doing that with her mouth. Before she knows what’s happening, she’s jumping up on the island and wrapping her legs around her girlfriend’s waist. She moans softly as Aubrey lowers her mouth, licking down her collarbone. The brunette attempts to grab at anything she can, settling for one hand in soft blonde hair and the other in her girlfriend’s soft blue shirt.

As the blonde continues to work her mouth across Emily’s upper chest and neck, the brunette can feel the room getting hotter. And it’s not because they’re in the kitchen.

Wanting Aubrey’s lips on her own, Emily grabs the older girl’s cheeks and brings soft lips to her own. The blonde bites down softly on her bottom lip, and she can’t stop the high pitched keen that escapes her. The younger girl moans again as the girl between her legs presses her tongue into her mouth. Aubrey does her best to swallow the sounds. She tries not to be too loud, instead showing her appreciation by curling her fingers into the hair on the nape of Aubrey’s neck and pulling her impossibly closer.

The blonde’s hand begins to ascend up underneath her shirt (or maybe it’s Aubrey’s shirt? She can’t remember where she got it from). She gasps as a calloused hand works it’s way around her mid-drift, leaving goosebumps in it’s wake. Suddenly, Aubrey’s teeth are scraping over her jaw, while her hands roam higher and higher, finding the clasp to her bra.

The blonde begins to fiddle with it, running her pointer finger under the back strap, feeling the hot skin underneath, before moving her hand around to the front, massaging full breasts through the fabric. She arches her back at the motion. Oh my stars.

She laughs again, as Aubrey nibbles playfully on her ear lobe, before scraping her teeth over the shell of her ear and whispering, “I’ve been wanting to do this all day.”

Emily sucks in a deep breath to stop herself from bucking her hips into her girlfriend’s stomach.

This is probably one of the hottest make out sessions they’ve ever had, and the brunette is thoroughly enjoying herself, that is, until Beca walks in, who is also visiting, along with Chloe.

They don’t notice her right away because the DJ doesn’t say anything and isn’t looking up, but then the former Bella’s Captain begins talking. “Hey, Em. When will dinner be-“

Beca’s words are cut short as she sees exactly what is happening in the kitchen. “Emily?!”

“Oh shoot,” the younger brunette groans, before pushing the blonde off of her neck. “Hi?”

“What are you doing?”

“What does it look like we’re doing?” Aubrey groans out, resting her head on Emily’s shoulder, before Emily giggles and slaps her good naturedly.

The woman just glares at them both, as if daring them to go on.

Seeing this, Aubrey mutters something along the lines of, “vag-blocker,” which Beca promptly ignored.

“Sorry, Bec. I’ll finish dinner,” the girl hops down from the island, and continues on as though nothing had happened (besides the fact that she has a few love bites on her neck).

After Emily turns back to the stove and relights it, Beca leads Aubrey out of the the room. “In the kitchen really, Posen?”

“Yeah, yeah I know, Mitchell,” the blonde hits her hand on her forehead. “I haven’t seen her in like a month. So I’m going to pretend like you don’t say that so we can still be friends. Can you imagine not seeing your girlfriend for a whole month, and then actually getting her alone?

The brunette doesn’t have an argument so just snaps, “just next time keep it in your pants!”

“Hey! Woah, Bec, what’s happening?” Chloe asks coming down the stairs, as if on cue.

“This one,” the brunette jerks her thumb towards Aubrey, “thought it was a good idea to make out with her girlfriend in the kitchen. Where we eat!”

The blonde tries to protest, but can’t get a word in.

Beca expects the redhead to be angry, and is thoroughly surprised when Chloe just starts laughing.

“Babe?” The tiny brunette questions.

“We did the exact same thing! Don’t you remember? Your sophomore year?”

Beca blushes at the memory before bringing herself back, “that’s not the point! Emily was cooking!”

“So was I!” Chloe laughs out.

“Hypocrite!” Aubrey joins in, grinning as well.

“Chloooo,” the younger girl whines.

“S-sorry babe. But you are,” her girlfriend looks at her with big eyes, and Beca can’t help but grin too.

Emily walks in right after, wrapping her arms around Aubrey’s middle and kissing her shoulder from behind. The blonde leans back into her girlfriend, and the college senior sighs. She presses farther into Aubrey grinding slightly, and kissing her neck before skipping off and saying, “dinner’s ready!” way too cheerfully.

Aubrey, who falters at the loss of contact, chases after her girlfriend, “Emily Junk! You get back here right now!”

Emily laughs again, before the new Bellas are coming downstairs to have dinner and see what the commotion is. A few watch on, wishing that they had what Em and Aubrey had, others ignore them and grumble that they’re hungry. Chloe shakes her head lovingly at the way her best friend is so different around her girlfriend versus the coaching room.

And Beca just looks on in amusement, she can’t help but think what an odd family they have. Made up of broken, battered and bruised pieces. But somehow they fit together. Her mind flashes to her Bellas. Amy’s constant need to be honest (even when it’s not needed), Aubrey’s (questionable) leadership skills, Chloe (who she loves deeply)’s constant support, Flo’s deadpan humor, Stacie’s advice on everything (even if it’s not the most reliable), CR’s soul, Lilly’s (confusing) personality, Emily’s enthusiasm, and even Ashley and Jessica. Yes, they’re odd. But they’re also good.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you liked! As always I'm on tumblr @handsinaca-pitches


	8. The Patronus (Part 2 to the HPAU/The Room of Requirement)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Or the reunion between Emily and Aubrey, as they prepare for war.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This was just for fun and I love Harry Potter and I love Junksen, so here we are

It’s been two years since Emily and Aubrey started dating. The blonde has graduated Hogwarts, but she and Emily are still together and happy. Since that night in the Room of Requirement, they’d been going strong. The blonde had found it in herself to come out to her family, who promptly shunned her, but the Slytherin girl didn’t care anymore. She was happy. For the first time in a long time. That is, until she hears the He Who Must Not Be Named is back. After that, it pretty much all goes to shit and Aubrey joins the Order of the Phoenix along with Chloe, Beca, Harry Potter, Ron Weasley, and Hermione Granger.

She hasn’t told her yet, but Emily is the love of her life. She wants to marry her. And her heart almost stops when she hears that her seventh year girlfriend is staying to fight. She knows that she has to go back to her school, even if that means facing her father and many others she grew up seeing regularly.

They arrive through the secret passage that the Room Of Requirement built (how fitting, it’s where it all began with her and Emily), and when she steps through into the familiar room she immediately feels a pair of arms around her. She breathes her girlfriend’s familiar scent of vanilla coffee and cinnamon. She doesn’t realize that she’s been holding her breath all the time it took them to get to Hogwarts, but as soon as she’s in the arms of the girl she loves, she exhales.

Pulling her girlfriend closer to her, Aubrey nuzzles farther into Emily, pressing her nose into soft brown locks and wrapping her arms around strong hips.  The brunette smells exactly how she remembers, like safety, like  _home._

They don’t say anything. There’s time for words later.

She internally groans as Chloe speaks, “Hey, Em, no hug for us?”

Aubrey contemplates putting a silencing charm on her best friend, but Emily laughs, a real honest to God laugh (she can’t remember the last time she heard one, she can’t remember the last time she had talked to her girlfriend, things with the Order had been so busy) and she can’t resist that sound. She missed it, missed  _her_  so much. So she let’s go and permits Chloe and Beca to say hello.

She remembers laying awake at night, wondering if Emily was doing to same. Thinking back to the days when things weren’t so dark. When they could sneak out of the dorms at night to spend the night together, or could go night flying together. When she didn’t have to be trained to resist the Cruciatus Curse, didn’t have to look over her shoulder when she was eating breakfast at the local diner and didn’t have to stop writing her girlfriend, for fear that someone would steal her letter and infer her affection for someone who wasn’t within the walls of Grimmauld Place. She couldn’t risk something happening to Emily. 

She remembers seeing Chloe and Beca holding hands in their sleep one night, and it made her wish even more that her girlfriend was there with her.

After Emily said her hellos to the rest of the gang, Aubrey pulled her aside into the far corner of the room where no one else was (they were too busy greeting Potter). When she was sure that no one was looking, she captured the brunette’s lips in her own. “I missed you,” she whispered. 

“I did too,” Emily kissed her again softly, “it’s so lonely here without you.” 

“I’m sorry I haven’t written,” Aubrey apologized, holding Emily’s hand to her cheek, kissing her wrist. “Things have been so crazy, and I wasn’t sure what I could write without it getting snatched. I didn’t want people to know how much I love you. I wouldn’t be able to forgive myself if-”

“I love you too, but it’s okay,  _I’m_  okay. And if something did happen,” Aubrey tries to protest even at that thought.

“ _Nothing,_ would’ve happen. I’ve been way to careful. And I love you too much. I’ve been protecting you-.”

The brunette interrupts, doing her best to console her girlfriend, “it wouldn’t have been your fault. Honestly babe, I’m just glad you’re safe.”  

“Me too,” the blonde sighs. “But-.”

“No buts,” Emily says swiftly. “I want my girlfriend, just for a bit. I know you have Order duties and all but…” The brunette trails off, hoping Aubrey knows what she means.

“All that’s kept me going is seeing you again,” the blonde confesses to her girlfriend. “I’ve been targeted multiple times. I can’t help but wonder if it’s my father,” the older girl looks behind Emily’s head at nothing in particular. 

“If it is,” the brunette presses her nose into the blonde’s neck, who immediately closes her eyes at the sensation. “If it is, we’ll deal with it.”

“What would I do without you?” Her girlfriend sighs, sinking further into her. The brunette just hugs the other girl tighter in response. “I- I don’t know how I survived these past few months without you,” she admits. 

It feels good to be able to feel vulnerable. To say the things she’s been waiting to say for so long. To confide in the one person she knew she would always be able to. To not have to act like she didn’t care about anything, to not have to act like the fighting wasn’t getting to her. To be able to  _feel._

“Me either,” the brunette, she says back. And then she has a thought (she knows it’s probably impossible), “I know we’re in the middle of a war. But,” Emily looks away, still shy.

“What?”

“I just want to talk to you. No fear, or thoughts of war. Just for a bit. You and me,  _us_ ,” the brunette says it in a whisper. 

Aubrey practically groans at the thought, because she’s barely kissed Emily in three or four months, let alone felt the safety of being alone with her, just them.“Emily,” it feels good to have the brunette’s name on her lips again. “I can’t,” the blonde tries to find the words. “There’s  _so_ much work to be done. The students staying behind need training, Harry needs to find, whatever he needs to find. There’s barely going to be enough time to do everything. I wish-I wish there was more but, it’s just a lot.” 

Emily looks disappointed, because she knows it was a long shot. Of course, she knows they have to win this. But she also wants  _her_ Aubrey. Not the one everyone else sees. Not the fearless leader everyone needs her to be. “I understand,” the brunette says, wrapping her arms around the blonde’s middle. “You think I can steal a couple more minutes, though?”

“Of course,” Aubrey lips upturn in what’s almost a smile (she doesn’t blame her that she can’t make a full one, she can’t imagine what her girlfriend has seen the past couple months). “I- trust me, I want to. I’ve missed you so much, I can’t even say how much. I want to be with you all the time until things really start but-,” the blonde tries to explain. 

“Aubs, it’s okay,” she feels the Slytherin girl’s knees weaken at the nickname. It’s a small victory to know that that still does something to her girlfriend. To know that her girlfriend is still soft for her underneath all the hardness she had to develop to survive. “I know there’s a lot, and it was a long shot anyway. I wouldn’t trust anyone else to follow through with what needs to get done tonight. You’re the best person I know for the job.” She kisses the blonde softly after she’s done talking. 

Their minutes together quickly pass, and Aubrey has to get back. Emily watches her go, and she knows what her girlfriend is doing is important, but it hurts to see the blonde put her brave face back on, to act like she’s not afraid like everyone else is. Emily knows she is.

As she looks on, the blonde begins to bark orders, and everyone does them as quickly as they can. She yells to push all the stuff to the side and that half of them are going to train while the other half goes to look for the diadem Harry needs. She hears someone (who sounds like a Gryffindor boy) grumble, “bossy Slytherin, how do we know she’s not working for the enemy,” but before Emily can grab the guy and do anything, Aubrey is holding him by the collar of his shirt. 

“What did you just say?” 

“No-nothing,” he responds, fear in his eyes. 

“No, I think you just implied that I’m on the other side,” she’s pacing in front of them, having let the guy fall to the floor. “My parents, my thoroughbred Slytherin parents, kicked me out on my head when I told them I was gay.” A couple people sucked in breath, they hadn’t heard this before. Before Emily (and even after), Aubrey had always been a private person. She knows that her girlfriend is only able to talk about her family because mentions of the blonde’s parents reactions to her coming out don’t hurt her as much. Especially after everything she’s seen these past couple months working with Harry. “They told me I was a disgrace to their name, that I would never be good enough. So, I set out to prove them wrong. Do you think I would go back to the man, the family, who never loved me?” She questions, “Do you think I would go back to living in a world where I don’t get to be who I am? Do you think I would want to live in a world where Voldemort rules? Where what he says goes?” Everyone gasps when she says the name. She snorts humorlessly, “you guys are still scared of the name? He knows where we are, may as well say it, show him we’re not afraid! Fall in line!” Everyone in the room gets into two lines, looking straight ahead in fear, awaiting Aubrey’s next words.

She looks like she wants to say something else, before Chloe and Beca interrupt her. They don’t want Aubrey to say something she’ll regret, and Emily is grateful she didn’t have to step in.

They decide to work on defense spells, and when everyone groans, Beca yells, “these saved my life. I would be dead without them.” It shuts everyone up pretty fast.

They work on hexes, and jinxes, which everyone seems to get the hang of pretty quick.

They work on Reducto specifically as well, and Emily remembers why. Before Aubrey stopped writing her, she informed her that if Beca hadn’t been able to conjure it at a moments notice to destroy the bridge behind them while running away, Chloe might’ve died. 

And then they work on charms. Aubrey helps them work on the stunning charm (which is a lot harder than it looks), and then they work on Patronuses. They knew that many of the younger kids had issues with developing one, especially living in such a dark time. She hears Chloe repeating what Harry told them a few years ago when her class mate still went to Hogwarts in their fifth year.  _Happy memories work, warmth and light_ , are a few things she recalls. Emily looks around. They look strong. Even the younger students are getting a hang of it. Until she sees Aubrey slumped in the corner. 

She walks over, “hey baby, what’s wrong?” 

Her girlfriend jumps, “hey,” the blonde says softly. All she says after is, “I can’t,” before staring down at her shaking hands. 

Emily kneels down, “you can’t, you can’t what?” 

“I can’t get my Patronus to appear!” The Slytherin girl says it sadly. She doesn’t even seem to be angry about it anymore. 

“W-why not?” 

“I don’t know,” Aubrey sighs. “It’s never happened before, not like this. I mean these past couple months it’s been harder, but I’ve always gotten it to appear. I thought it was just because of stress, but now…”

“Are there-are there not enough happy memories?” Emily asks, timidly.

“Oh-no, Em, that’s not it. There are _so many,_ with you. I just-, I haven’t been able to apply them, I don’t know why.” 

The brunette looks at her girlfriend, she still remembers when Aubrey and her could be carefree. Meeting after dark, going flying. She remembers when the blonde could conjure one at a moments notice by simply waving her wand. She recalls one night when they were together. They didn’t want to light the lamps, so Aubrey muttered the incantation and her Pateonus appeared. Emily remembers being transfixed by its beauty, as it padded around the room, as thought keeping watch over them. (She supposes that it was). It’s crazy to thing how everything’s changed so much.

Emily pulls her girlfriend up, “let me help you,” she says brightly (or as brightly as she can muster, considering they’re training for war). The blonde doesn’t resist, and stands up. 

“So, think of the happiest memory you can,” the brunette stands behind her, whispering directions in her ear.

(Aubrey knows that she should definitely get her mind out of the gutter, but it feels so good to have Emily pressed against her, whispering things in her ear).

The blonde closes her eyes, thinking of when she and her girlfriend went night flying after both acing their NEWTs and OWLs respectively. They had spent the whole night together, racing their brooms, playing a little Quidditch and kissing (lots of kissing). Her heart swells just thinking about it.

She remembers the smell of the night air. What Emily had on (a worn flannel and sweatpants). She remembers the taste of Emily’s lips. The way they both smiled into the kiss. She remembers the feelings of elation, of joy, of  _love_.

Aubrey’s eyes are reflective of nostalgic thoughts and memories of joy. When Emily sees this, she whispers, “now, the incantation.” 

The blonde breathes in deeply, “Expecto Patronum,” Aubrey feels warmth through her fingers. A large fox flies from the tip of her wand as soon as the incantation was over. It runs around the blonde a couple of times. No matter how many times she sees it, Emily always can’t help but think how fitting it is. The fox is always ready to fight, and is always concentrated on the task ahead. It looks scary (big sharp teeth and all), but if you approach it carefully, tame it, and love it, in just the right ways, it will let you get closer. It only trusts its pack, and when it loves, it loves ferociously. Just like Aubrey.

After her contemplation, Emily casts her own, a small rabbit jumping from her own wand. Aubrey’s Patronus chases her own. (Another reason the creature is so fitting). The brunette wraps her arms around her girlfriend as they watch their two Patronuses run together. 

As she looks around, Aubrey sees many others doing the same. There’s something so very peaceful about it. Seeing something filled with beauty and grace, constructed from the very thought of happiness. Something designed to quite literally be light in the dark, something designed to represent hope. And Merlin knows they need hope right about now. Her heart swells as she looks around. There’s so much worth fighting for, so much. Especially the girl right next to her. The girl who is Aubrey’s light in the dark. 

She supposes that this is a good spell to end on for the night.

**Author's Note:**

> Comments are really appreciated. If you want, message me on tumblr @handsinaca-pitches :))


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